2.39: Physics - Astrophysics

Astrophysics is a branch of space science that applies the laws of physics and chemistry to explain the birth, life and death of stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae and other objects in the universe. It has two sibling sciences, astronomy and cosmology, and the lines between them blur (Balter, 2017). Like its counterpart, Astronomy, it is a predominantly white field (AIP Report, 2021). While racism is not rocket science, rocket science suffers from it when it comes to representation in the field. A notable exception is Dr. George Carruthers, who was an Astrophysicist, acclaimed scientist, and inventor who died in December of 2020. His telescope enabled astronauts on Apollo 16 to obtain photos while on the moon in 1973.

One of the leading and few Black astrophysicists in his field, Carruthers built his first telescope at age 10. He responded to a 1969 call from NASA to design experiments for Apollo space flights. Four months later, Dr. Carruthers received a patent for an “Image Converter for Detecting Electromagnetic Radiation Especially in Short Wavelengths.” He was unique in that he was the conceptual scientist behind the invention but also the practical engineer. He and a team created a telescope that “electronically amplify [sic] images from space through a series of lenses, prism [sic] and mirror [sic], just three inches in diameter. Then, by converting photons to electrons,the images could be recorded on film” (Shudel, 2020).The telescope was also sturdy enough to handle space travel and was easy enough for astronauts to maneuver in their space gear. It was like a planetary observatory, which was the first of its kind to be used in space. He went on to develop more telescopes in his tenure. Dr. Carruthers was one of four children. He completed his education in a very short time period. He was very shy but gave wonderful lectures. In a 1971 interview, he mentioned that in his 7 year career at the naval research laboratory, he worked 14 hour days, had never taken a vacation, and had no hobbies as this work felt like a hobby. In the 1980s, he began to work extensively in science outreach programs particularly in Black schools. After retiring in 2002, he taught Earth and Space science at Howard University (Shudel, 2020).

In a 1992 Interview with Dr. George Carruthers, he discussed Project SMART,Science and Mathematics Achievement through Research Training(SMART) which was a group started by Valarie Thomas, who works at the National Space Science Data Center in Goddard Space Flight Center. The project was created to advise on science and technology issues of importance to the Black community. The initial goal of the project was to increase literacy in the fields of science and technology among the Black community regardless if they make a career out of it and it has expanded its charge over time. Dr. Carruthers explained that there are other organizations working on similar causes that he also works with. When asked if it was different working to recruit African American students into his field as opposed to white students, he responded,

“I don't think there is anything different in nature. There may be some difference in the degree because of environment and background. Certainly I don't think there is anything inherent to race that's involved. It's just that most of the African American students come from less well-to-do backgrounds, inner city backgrounds, and aren't exposed to science and technology to the degree that some of the other students are. But the other question about how we get them interested is something that we're really trying to find out and develop” (Carruthers, 1992).

He spoke to the idea of being a role model and the importance of the youth to see someone like them doing the work (DeVorkin, 1992). He mentioned the obstacles but argued that there were fewer of them at the time of the interview (1993) than in the 1950s and 1960s. Dr.Carruthers discussed his father who worked in the same field, and he also had an uncle with a PhD who taught at Howard University. Getting a science fiction comic book from his grandmother is what got him interested in science. He built his first telescope shortly after. In high school he competed in science fairs and continued to build telescopes. There he started going to the Adler planetarium and connected with astronomers. He read an article in the 1950s that suggested astronomy should be done in outer space, and this idea was in sharp contrast to what many astronomers felt the charge of astronomy was and that in fact it should be done on Earth (DeVorkin, 1992). His teachers were supportive of him in high school but he was really over their head in terms of his intellect and ambition. At Adler, he was part of a telescope making group; in the group, it was up to the inventors to purchase their own supplies which Carruthers was capable of doing. He was not poor, but did not have as many resources as some of his contemporaries. Carruthers stated that, “Since the astronomers at the Adler Planetarium told me that space flight was nonsense, I wanted to sort of counter that by studying aerospace engineering and making space astronomy a reality,” so he pursued that area of inquiry at the university. He cited books growing up serving as role models for him (DeVorkin, 1992). In college the shift academically was hard. He went from As to Cs and Ds, and he credits these grades in part due to not enough high level math classes offered to him at his mostly Black high school. In his first year of grad school, Dr. Carruthers took a summer job at Aerojet in Sacramento, California, which was his first exposure to what engineers do. It helped him refine what he did not want to do but he learned a lot. He wanted to work for the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) from early on and secured a NASA postdoc with that goal.

The ability to do one's own engineering and building wasn't common practice of scientists at NASA, so many found Carruthers odd, and some engineers felt he was stepping on their toes. In 1967, he had his first rocket success and was able to get aerial images from space with a telescope. After the postdoc, he moved to NRL and was able to focus on the work he found meaningful. In this regard he could be involved in all aspects of the inventing, building, testing, and observing which is the way he wanted to work. In this work he saw an opportunity to act as a role model for those aspiring to do similar work. His groundbreaking telescope project came as a call for experiments to be brought on the Apollo 16 launch. His proposal was accepted and he was asked to partner with Thornton Page whose proposal was similar. The telescope was engineered by Carruthers and it launched with Apollo 16. After Apollo technology changed, Carruthers research interest shifted to his work with Project SMART. He saw classroom teaching as not engaging, and asserted that there needed to be supplemental hands-on opportunities for summer programs that perform first hand science experiments and activities to engage youth (DeVorkin, 1992).