Burnell, Jocelyn Bell (1943—)

views updated

Burnell, Jocelyn Bell (1943—)

Irish astronomer who discovered the first four pulsars. Name variations: S.J. Bell; S. Jocelyn Bell Burnell; Jocelyn Bell-Burnell. Born Susan Jocelyn Bell on July 15, 1943, in Belfast, Northern Ireland; daughter of George Philip and Margaret Allison (Kennedy) Bell; attended Mount School, York; Glasgow University, B.Sc. 1965; Cambridge University, Ph.D., 1968; married Martin Burnell 1968 (divorced, 1989); children: Gavin.

Awards:

honorary D.Sc. from universities of Heriot-Watt (1993), York (1994) Newcastle (1995) and Warwick (1995); Michelson Medal, Franklin Institute (1973); J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize, University of Miami (1978); Rennie Taylor Award, American Tentative Society (1978); Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize, American Astronomical Society (1987); Herschel Medal, Royal Astronomical Society (1989).

Was research fellow, University of Southampton (1968–73); served as research assistant, Mullard Space Science Lab, University College, London (1974–82); served as senior research fellow (1982–86), senior science officer (1986–89), Grade 7 (1989–91), Royal Observatory, Edinburgh; served as professor of physics, Open University, Milton Keynes (1991—).

Selected publications: (with A. Hewish, et al.) "Observation of a Rapidly Pulsating Radio Source" (Nature, 1968); Broken for Life (1989).

Jocelyn Bell Burnell's principal contribution to astronomy is her discovery of the first four pulsars during her Ph.D. research in radio astronomy, a discovery that netted a Nobel Prize for her thesis advisor.

Born Susan Jocelyn Bell on July 15, 1943, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the eldest of four children of architect George Philip Bell and Margaret Kennedy Bell , both Quakers, she was raised in her family's country house surrounded by nannies and nursemaids. At age 11, she failed the college-preparatory placement exam; two years later, her family sent her to Mount School, a Quaker boarding school for girls in York, England. She would remain an active Quaker throughout her life. While there, Burnell became increasingly interested in astronomy and read through the astronomy shelves in the school library.

After graduating in 1961, she attended the University of Glasgow, majoring in physics rather than astronomy after considering future job prospects. As the only woman in her upper-level courses, she suffered considerable harassment. Graduating with honors in 1965, she began graduate studies at Cambridge University, arriving just as noted astronomer Antony Hewish began construction of a new radio telescope designed to study quasars. Hewish became Burnell's thesis advisor, and she spent two years constructing the 4.5 acre radio array. When the telescope began operation in July 1967, Burnell was in charge of data analysis. Several months later, she noticed a strange, rapidly varying signal that was later followed by the discovery of three similar signals. Burnell, Hewish, and their associates carefully analyzed the signals before publishing their results in 1968. Burnell completed her thesis that year, with the pulsars appearing in an appendix.

Upon graduation, Burnell switched to X-ray astronomy and took a position at the University of Southampton in order to be near soon-to-be husband Martin Burnell's government job. She resigned in 1973 after the birth of son Gavin. The following year, she began part-time work in X-ray astronomy at University College, London. During this time, her former thesis advisor Hewish was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in part for his "decisive role on the discovery of pulsars." Famed astronomer Fred Hoyle and others openly questioned the failure of the Nobel Committee to include Burnell in the award.

Burnell switched positions once again as her husband's job relocated in 1982, becoming Senior Research Fellow at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh and, from 1986 to 1989, the manager of the international James Clerk Maxwell Telescope project. In 1989, the Burnells divorced. In 1991, Jocelyn signed on as professor of physics at the Open University at Milton Keynes.

The diagnosis of her son's juvenile diabetes was the major impetus for Burnell's published Swarthmore lecture, Broken for Life (1989). Although not a Nobel Prize recipient, she has received copious awards, including several honorary doctorates, the Michelson Medal (awarded jointly with Hewish in 1973), the first Beatrice Tinsley award of the American Astronomical Society (1987) and the Herschel Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1989. The discovery of pulsars, Burnell wrote, "could not have been accomplished without a lot of luck and hard work. In return it has brought me enormous enjoyment, some undeserved fame, and opportunities to get to know many interesting people—marvelous rewards in themselves."