At the age of 47, I just got accepted to my dream school: UChicago’s Ph.D. program in the Department of Physics and in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
I’m so excited! I’ve been in a hazy dazy glaze for days!
One of my hopes on this journey is to share with you what it feels like to delight in the magic and mystery of the natural world — even during the most difficult days — and to invite you to do the same.
Below are a few excerpts of my UChicago candidate statement. It leads with the slightly nerdy stuff — it is a physics Ph.D. program after all! — and then gets to why the heck I’m doing this in section 4.
Thank you for sharing a few steps of this journey with me.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Grad School Candidate Statement, Fall 2020
I. Introduction
My primary career goal is to deepen our understanding of the Universe through research in black hole astrophysics. I’ve arrived at this goal via an unconventional path, having dedicated the past 20 years to expanding educational opportunities for youth, including 10 years teaching high school physics.
Now, 25 years after college, I am returning to a research career in astrophysics with clarified purpose, unique skills, and an enduring passion for advancing scientific understanding. My hope in this application is to:
- Demonstrate my qualifications and capacity to expand the frontiers of knowledge through astrophysical research;
- Share my motivation for making this major mid-career return to physics; and
- Excite you about the significant assets I bring to the important work of broadening the impacts of my research in ways that inspire new generations of citizens, students, and scientists.
II. Research Interests
We are in an exciting era for high-energy astrophysics, with recent Nobel Prizes awarded in 2017 for the detection of gravitational waves (GWs) and in 2020 for the observational confirmation of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. As these exciting developments unfold, a number of fundamental mysteries remain, including my primary research question:
By analyzing the highest mass binary black hole (BBH) mergers observed by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA detectors, what constraints can be placed on current theories regarding the mass distribution of black holes (BHs) and the mechanisms that produce them?
Gravitational waves have introduced a wonderful new way to probe the nature of energetic events such as compact binary coalescences of binary neutron stars or BBHs. Along with these GW detections have come new challenges to existing theories. One BBH merger (GW190521) raises exciting questions [1, 2]. The masses involved in GW190521 — a primary BH mass of 85 solar masses [M⊙], a secondary mass of 66 M⊙, and a total merged mass of 150 M⊙ — seem to violate the pair-instability supernova (PISN) mass gap, which prevents core-collapse SN from directly creating BHs between approximately 65 and 120 M⊙, conflicting with the mass of the larger of the two progenitors. And the total mass of GW190521’s merged BH falls within another unusual range — the intermediate-mass gap — between stellar BHs (with masses up to tens of M⊙) and supermassive BHs (with much larger masses above 100,000 M⊙). No prior observations in gravitational or electromagnetic waves have confirmed BHs in this range.
To address these and other open questions related to the observed mass distribution of BHs and their production mechanisms, I propose to conduct research to:
- Use existing and future detections to reveal correlations and characteristics among the observational properties of BBHs, such as BH spins, to reveal common features of these BBH mergers falling within the PISN and intermediate-mass gaps;
- Understand the standard and alternate methods for evaluating BH detections by contributing to the review and refinement of computationally intensive data analysis pipelines [e.g. 3] attempting to maximize source detections within LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA datasets;
- Wherever possible (though likely rare), use observations of electromagnetic counterparts to BBH GW detections to produce additional insights, such as any fortuitous detections of host galaxies of these merger events that might yield insights into the stellar and BH populations in the neighborhood of the BBH and clues to their production mechanisms.
The absence prior to GW190521 of BH observations in the PISN or intermediate mass gaps has been a lingering mystery to which I propose to make a significant contribution as a graduate student. As the population of GW observations grows across a widening global network of observatories, we will see continued efforts to understand the properties and, ultimately, the production mechanisms of these intriguing mass-gap BHs. Given the sizable uncertainties involved in these detections and analyses, due in part to the assumptions that have to be made, it will be essential to incorporate and test new theoretical and observational constraints to refine our detection and analysis techniques. The validity of these techniques will be tested by their performance against the rates of new observations as the number and sensitivity of detectors increase, first in ground-based detector networks, and later through space-based detectors like LISA.
III. Research Qualifications
I am an experienced researcher with seven publications [4–10], six from my undergraduate research on gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and, additionally, on astrometric mass measurements of the binary star Procyon. Not only do I have the capacity and experience for independent research, I also have another important quality for success that I learned in my early GRB work: I have the demonstrated judgment and restraint to accurately report on results without overreaching to make exaggerated or unscientific claims, despite our hunger for new groundbreaking discoveries, which I too eagerly hope to make.
In addition, I also have two years of research experience in the High-Energy Division of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics where I assisted data analyses for AXAF/Chandra mirror calibrations. I have direct experience with the realities of day-to-day research and how to balance those demands with other obligations such as teaching, as I did while working as the head teaching assistant for Harvard’s Physics 11b course while continuing my CfA research. If accepted to the University of Chicago, I am excited to apply these skills to the challenging task of balancing my graduate coursework with gravitational-wave research.
IV. Personal Motivation and Career Goals
As noted above, I have arrived at these research goals via an unconventional path, which I describe here as context and explanation. I begin with a story of events that helped reveal my inner convictions, leading me to a career change.
In 2006, while teaching physics to 130 students in Chicago, I raised $120,000 to fund two foreign exchange trips. The trips and their homestays were life-changing experiences for the 14 high-school students in my Zulu language seminar and their 14 South African penpals. After completing these two successful exchange trips, I was tired. While on vacation to recharge, a woman collapsed on the beach from an apparent heart attack. I was one of several people who worked tirelessly for 40 minutes until the ambulance arrived trying unsuccessfully to revive her with CPR. It was a traumatic experience. Yet, through years of reflection, I learned something important about the power of my deepest convictions: the lesson from that beach was that, despite knowing the traumatic outcome, I cannot imagine a universe in which I would see that woman collapse on that beach and not try again to save her life. It’s who I am.
Though traumatic, that experience prompted further reflection on my other lifelong convictions, ultimately motivating me to make changes to better align my career with those convictions. Through years of reflection and experience, I now know that despite the many challenges and traumas of racial isolation I faced in physics, I cannot imagine a universe in which I am given a taste of the wonder of science without wishing I’d spent the rest of my life trying to go deeper. So instead of wishing I had done so, I have chosen to answer the persistent internal call to a deeper understanding of the physical Universe through research. That’s why two years ago I began a transition out of the non-profit I co-founded (the Chicago Learning Exchange) to return to physics. This decision wasn’t made on a whim. My clarity was guided by the following three life questions, which I offer here as an outline for my three career goals.
Guiding Question 1: What lights me up?
Answer — Delighting in the magic and mystery of the natural world!
Career Goal — To pursue answers to the fundamental questions about the physical Universe.
How will I achieve this goal?
- For more than a year I have been actively studying, taking the physics GRE, and attending weekly meetings with a UChicago physicist who has been unofficially advising my long-term independent study of core physics topics.
- I am applying to Ph.D. programs this fall to deepen my prior knowledge and to increase my capacity to contribute new astrophysical discoveries.
So What? Why does this matter? — Revealing the mysteries of the universe helps to scratch one of humanity’s oldest itches —namely, our curiosity — and, research shows [11], awe can “shift our attention away from ourselves, make us feel like we are part of something greater than ourselves, and make us more generous toward others,” among many other positive psychological and social impacts.
Guiding Question 2: What breaks my heart?
Answer — Being undervalued throughout my life as a Black man in both science and society, even as the wonders of the universe sing my value and call me to understand more deeply.
Career Goal — To affirm the value of Black lives and other undervalued people by investing in their capacity to pursue and expand the wonder of science at the highest levels of study.
How will I achieve this goal?
- I intend to use the power of my presence as a Black man within universities — whether as a graduate student, postdoc, faculty member, or researcher in physics — just as I have done at the secondary level as the founding physics teacher at what is now the top-ranked public school in Illinois, Walter Payton College Prep High School.
- Using my training at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, I will dedicate a portion of my career to improving physics teaching and texts at the college level, with a particular focus on reducing the gate-keeping nature of introductory calculus and calculus-based physics courses. My ongoing study of real analysis is laying the foundation for this work.
So What? Why does this matter? — the invitation for us to delight in the Universe is universal. It’s an invitation to all people, not just the privileged few. To affirm an individual’s right to more deeply pursue the wonder of science is one way to proclaim the value of their life.
Guiding Question 3: Driven by these two answers above, what change do I want to see in the world?
Answer — I want to see widespread and commonplace encounters of Black people and other underrepresented groups delighting in the magic and mystery of the natural world.
Career Goal — To lower barriers to encountering the wonder of science among underrepresented and undervalued populations.
How will I achieve this goal?
- Currently, as a Civic Science Fellow, I am working with six science funders to create new initiatives that inspire a shared vision for science in society, including better supporting the highly valued lives and contributions of undervalued people in science.
- I will continue to use social media (such as Twitter, blogging, and sermons posted to SoundCloud) to create more widespread and commonplace encounters of Black people delighting in the scientific wonders of nature. As a person of faith, I will continue to use my public voice to address and reduce the perceptual distance between science and faith communities, a counterproductive divide of real national concern.
So What? Why does this matter? — The widespread presence of Black people doing and delighting in science is just one indicator of our freedom and value in science and in society.
V. Preparation and Qualifications to Achieve These Goals
My career goals outlined above describe my plans for contributing to this exciting moment in astrophysical research and broader impacts. Here is what I have been doing and will continue to do to rise to this occasion, and how I will evaluate my progress. Suffice it to say that I am taking the academic demands of graduate school seriously and am committed to ongoing growth and learning.
- I took the physics GRE in October 2019 after seven weeks of study, earning a score that was well below my goal but yet a respectable first attempt given my years since college study and relatively brief preparation time. Following that first attempt, I studied for several additional months this spring and summer to retake the exam this fall until the test was canceled due to COVID. Though it is not required for admissions, I may still retake the PGRE given the breadth of preparation it demands, which is preparation I would like to have under my belt as I return to rigorous study, despite the acknowledged limitations of the PGRE as a tool for learning.
- I will continue my independent study throughout the next year with twelve weeks dedicated to the four core areas: quantum mechanics; classical mechanics and special relativity; electricity and magnetism; and statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. My studies of real analysis will also continue.
- I am submitting graduate school and research fellowship applications to ensure that I’m financially able to take the next important step in my research career.
- I am actively cultivating strong advising relationships with experienced researchers who understand and support my unique path.
- Meanwhile, I remain open to multiple potential career pathways including professor, research scientist, and science philanthropy program officer dedicated to ensuring ongoing support for basic research.
…
My commitment to broader impacts is clear from my 20+ years of service in the educational, non-profit, and community-based sectors with real results, including my co-founding of a digital learning non-profit that at the time of my departure had served more than 20,000 Chicago youth, 500 educators, and 200 organizations, and counting. I hope you are persuaded that I have significant and unique qualifications to make substantial and far-reaching contributions to both research and society as a graduate student at the University of Chicago.
References
[1] M. Fishbach and D. E. Holz, “Don’t fall into the gap: GW190521 as a straddling binary,” (2020). arXiv:2009.05472
[2] R. Abbott et al., “Properties and Astrophysical Implications of the 150 M⊙ Binary Black Hole Merger GW190521,” The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 900, Issue 1 (2020): L13.
[3] T. Venumadhav, B. Zackay, J. Roulet; L. Dai; M. Zaldarriaga, “New search pipeline for compact binary mergers,” Physical Review D, vol. 100, Issue 2 (2019).
[4] S. E. Dyson, T. M. Girard, W. F. van Altena, “The Astrometric Orbit and Mass of Procyon,” Bull. Amer. Astron. Soc, vol. 26 (1994): p.929.
[5] S. E. Dyson & B. E. Schaefer, “A Wide-Ranging Search for Correlations among Burst Properties,” Gamma-Ray Bursts: 3rd Huntsville Symposium (1995): 363.
[6] S. E. Dyson & B. E. Schaefer, “Correlations among Gamma-Ray Burst Properties,” Astrophysical Journal vol. 504 (1998): 396–404.
[7] T. M. Girard, H. Wu, J. T. Lee, S. E. Dyson, et al., “A Redetermination of the Mass of Procyon,” The Astronomical Journal vol. 119, Issue 5 (2000): 2428–2436.
[8] T. M. Girard, H. Wu, J. T. Lee, S. E. Dyson, E. P. Horch, W. F. van Altena, C. Ftaclas, “A Redetermination of the Mass of Procyon,” Bull. Amer. Astron. Soc. vol 28 (1996): 919.
[9] D. E. Graessle, R. L. Blake, A. J. Burek, S. E. Dyson, et, “Modeling of Synchrotron Reflectance Calibrations of AXAF Iridium-Coated Witness Mirrors over 2–12 keV,” Proceedings SPIE vol. 3444 (1998): 140–159.
[10] B. E. Schaefer & S. E. Dyson, “How exponential are FREDs?,” Gamma-ray bursts: 3rd Huntsville symposium. AIP Conference Proceedings, vol. 384 (1996): 96–100.
[11] S. Allen, “The Science of Awe,” A white paper prepared for the John Templeton Foundation by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley (2018).
