We work among extraordinary people doing extraordinary things; get to know some of them by reading these quick-fire interviews.
Name: Duncan Lyster
Job title: DPhil student, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics
What are you currently working on?
For my DPhil project I have been writing a computer model that works out the temperatures of airless bodies in space. I am looking at asteroids and icy moons, and using the model to better understand information we get from infrared instruments on spacecraft. Right now, I am preparing to go to the USA to work with the NASA Lucy Mission team. The Lucy spacecraft is on its way to visit the Trojan Asteroids, in Jupiter’s neighbourhood, but on the way it is going to fly past a previously unvisited 'inner belt' asteroid, and I will be using my model to interpret measurements of the thermal signature of the asteroid. This will allow us to work out not just how warm it is, but it can tell us how dense its surface is, which can give us clues about how it formed, and if it’s similar or different to other asteroids we have observed in the past. There are still lots of open questions about how our Solar System formed, and close-up observations of asteroids like these help us build the picture that will eventually tell us how we ended up with a planet that can host life.
Describe a typical day
I work in the AOPP (Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics) building, so I normally walk in across University Parks and always try to get to the office before the four others I share with. Most of my working day is spent testing my model, improving areas that need work, and doing test runs on data from a previous asteroid flyby. I meet my supervisor once a week, so on these days, I spend the morning organising my notes and working out what I want her advice on. At lunchtime I will normally grab a coffee from the machine in AOPP, and do a bit of the department’s jigsaw puzzle with a few friends (we have always got one on the go). After finishing up I will go home for dinner, then normally I head straight out for training with the Oxford Uni Salsa Team – we have got a few big performances coming up so the training is on most days currently!
If you had an entire day at your disposal (not at work/studying), what would be your ideal way to spend it?
My only gripe with Oxford is that it is a long way from the sea and I always miss it, so on my perfect day off I would grab my wetsuit and surfboard and head down to the north coast of Devon. I would jump in the sea for a swim or a surf, lounge around and dry off in the sun, and then head to the pub in the evening for a pint and a burger.
What is your favourite place in Oxford?
I have a lot of favourite spots in Oxford; there are the sunny corners of University Parks, the window desks in the Taylorian Library, and the views from the top floor of the Varsity Club, but my favourite place to be in the evening has to be the Oxford Retreat on a Wednesday for the salsa night. It is a social kick, and I always get a buzz that lasts a few days from seeing friends and listening to some great music!
What discovery would you like to see in your lifetime?
For me there is one big headline I am waiting for – the discovery of life elsewhere in the universe. I would love to be a part of the work that goes into it. Whether we find biosignatures of life in our own Solar System – swimming in the oceans of Saturn and Jupiter’s icy moons – or maybe we will observe the oxygen-rich atmosphere of a thriving world orbiting a different sun many light-years away, I am optimistic that there is something to find out there, and we just need to go out there and look!