Marek Janusz Kukula (born 1969) is a British astronomer and an author of works on popular science. After gaining a PhD in radio astronomy from the University of Manchester in 1994, he specialised in studying distant galaxies. As his research reached the limits of telescopes, he moved into the field of public engagement. In 2008 he was appointed Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Kukula credits his father as the person who "first ignited and then encouraged my interest in the natural world", and a trip with his parents to the Jodrell Bank Observatory at age 14 for his decision to focus on astronomy. [1]
He graduated in physics with astrophysics from the University of Manchester in 1990 and in 1994 was awarded a PhD in radio astronomy from the same university with a thesis on The radio properties of Seyfert nuclei, [2] based on research carried out at Jodrell Bank Observatory.
Kukula's field is distant galaxies. [3]
After completing his PhD, Kukula subsequently worked as a postdoctoral research assistant at Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Astronomy (based at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh) and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. This was followed by a PPARC Advanced Fellowship held at the University of Edinburgh.
His research interests include active galactic nuclei (particularly Seyfert galaxy, Radio galaxy and quasars) and the ways in which large galaxies and their central supermassive black holes have changed and evolved throughout cosmological time. [4] This research has involved the use of a variety of telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Very Large Array, MERLIN, the William Herschel Telescope, and the Very Large Telescope.
Kukula's interest in public engagement work was sparked when he enjoyed doing these activities in addition to his main role as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh. [5]
As his work began to reach the limits of what was achievable with Hubble and the VLT, Kukula decided to move away from research, and instead explore the possibility of pursuing a career in the developing field of outreach. [1]
After his Fellowship, Kukula was appointed Course Organiser for Science and Nature in the University of Edinburgh's Office of Lifelong Learning, delivering a programme of science course for the general public. [6]
Kukula worked with the Researchers in Residence programme. [6]
Kukula was a member of the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Small Awards funding panel for public engagement in astronomy, particle and nuclear physics. [6]
In August 2008 he was appointed to the new post of Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich [7] [6] where his role was to engage the UK public and media with all aspects of astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology and planetary science. [8] [9] The role included provision for a return to performing his own research, but Kukula initially doubt he would take this up, due to the time and enjoyment he got out of effectively researching a much larger body of science than just his research area. [5]
In 2013, in his role as Public Astronomer he curated the Visions of the Universe temporary exhibition at the National Maritime Museum. [10] Having attracted 72,000 visitors and been given a five star review by The Guardian's art critic, Marek credited this as his greatest achievement so far, in a 2016 interview with The Guardian. [9]
In 2015 he co-authored The scientific secrets of Doctor Who with Simon Guerrier, and described it as " a book which used Doctor Who to explore science in the real world". [11] [12]
From 2015 to 2017, Kukula reviewed science books for The Spectator. [13]
In 2017 he was the first recipient of the Royal Astronomical Society's Annie Maunder Medal for Outreach. [14] [1]
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich is an observatory situated on a hill in Greenwich Park in south east London, overlooking the River Thames to the north. It played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and because the Prime Meridian passes through it, it gave its name to Greenwich Mean Time, the precursor to today's Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The ROG has the IAU observatory code of 000, the first in the list. ROG, the National Maritime Museum, the Queen's House and the clipper ship Cutty Sark are collectively designated Royal Museums Greenwich.
Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, England, hosts a number of radio telescopes as part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The observatory was established in 1945 by Bernard Lovell, a radio astronomer at the university, to investigate cosmic rays after his work on radar in the Second World War. It has since played an important role in the research of meteoroids, quasars, pulsars, masers and gravitational lenses, and was heavily involved with the tracking of space probes at the start of the Space Age.
Seyfert galaxies are one of the two largest groups of active galaxies, along with quasars. They have quasar-like nuclei with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, their host galaxies are clearly detectable.
Sir Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell was an English physicist and radio astronomer. He was the first director of Jodrell Bank Observatory, from 1945 to 1980.
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Carl Keenan Seyfert was an American astronomer. He is best known for his 1943 research paper on high-excitation line emission from the centers of some spiral galaxies, which are named Seyfert galaxies after him. Seyfert's Sextet, a group of galaxies, is also named after him.
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Richard John Davis, OBE, FRAS was a radio astronomer for the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester.
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