Bill Januszewski
(STScI)
I first started getting interested in astronomy after watching the PBS
television series COSMOS, hosted by Carl Sagan, in the early 1980s. I was still
in high school at the time, and I remember thinking that the science of
astronomy was just the coolest thing. While I was in high school I also came
across an issue of Sky and Telescope. Finding this magazine started a life long
interest in amateur astronomy that I still enjoy to this day.
After high school I worked at a number of jobs, including one where I
built models using LEGO building blocks. The head quarters for the company's
North American operations are located in the town where I grew up, Enfield
Connecticut. For a number of years I worked in the department that built models
out of the blocks that were then used for displays in stores. Although this was
a lot of fun after a number of years I knew this wasn't what I wanted to do for
a career. I started thinking about what I did want to do, and kept on coming
back to the hobby that I enjoyed so much, amateur astronomy. I still wasn't sure
I wanted to become an astronomer, but I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the
sciences.
I applied to Central Connecticut State University as a physics major in
1989.
A number of years later I graduated with a BS degree in physics, and
minors in astronomy and mathematics. It took longer then the usual four years
partly because I went part time for a while, and also because there were so many
classes I wanted to take that had nothing to do with my major, like geology and
archeology.
I had of course heard of the Hubble Space Telescope when I was still in
high school. The spacecraft was placed in orbit soon after I started collage. I
paid close attention to the science being done with it. However, I never thought
I'd have an opportunity to work with it, or be a part of the team that operates
the observatory. In February 2000 I had the incredible good fortune to become
part of the operations division here at the Space Telescope Science Institute.
For the last 6 years I have worked as a program coordinator. Although some of
the newness has worn off, it is still an incredible experience to work with the
observatory. I'd worked with the heritage team a little during my first few
years at the institute. In Spring of 2005 I was able to join the project. |
