“Six years ago, I wouldn’t have thought I was going to become an astronomer, but sometimes things change.” That’s what Dan Li says.
Dan Li is from China. He graduated from Tsinghua University in 2003 with a major on precision instrumentation. After spending three years at the Academy of Science and National Astronomical Observatories of China, working on astronomical infrared instrumentation, he developed a taste for astronomy and its tools.
“I found that astronomical telescopes are probably the best thing that combines mechanics and optics. I loved both, so I decided to pursue a career in Astronomy in order to keep improving my instrument-building skills.” Dan recalls.
But according to Dan, Chinese astronomy is more focused into theoretical research. “If you want to do cutting edge observational work, there are more opportunities in the U.S. to access the high end facilities around the world.” he explains.
For this reason, Dan applied to several U.S. schools and got accepted in many of them. He was seduced by UF Astronomy Department’s instrumentation program and now he is on his fifth year here.
Talking to him, it seems like he is happy with his choice “I think this is a very good department. It has they right size and people are very friendly, so you know every student and every professor. It also has a very strong background in instrumentation building and that allows students to use a lot of facilities around the world.” he says “Also, Gainesville has a very good climate and a clean environment. It is not a big city, not too noisy and a very interesting spot. In Florida you can visit many nice places both in the Gulf and in the Atlantic. I have two main hobbies, travelling and railroads. Here I can enjoy both.”
Dan Li works on his thesis under the advice of Professor Charlie Telesco. He studies protoplanetary discs (discs of dust floating around young stars) around certain type of stars called “Herbig Ae/Be” stars. On this kind of star, the disc is very suitable for mid infra-red observation, allowing scientists to learn more about the planet formation processes that happen on them. Prof. Telesco is the lead investigator of some of the most important mid IR instruments around the world, and that gives Dan access to that instrumentation. “This is a very interesting topic, as exoplanetary systems are very popular in nowadays astronomy.” Dan says.
Dan also works on the commissioning of CanariCam, a high tech, heat sensitive camera, built by Prof. Telesco. This is instrument was created to work on the world’s greatest optical telescope, the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), located in La Palma, Spain. This instrument will allow peering through obscuring interstellar dust with unprecedented accuracy.
Due to his work Dan was invited to attend to the GTC meeting just held in the island of La Palma. “It was very interesting for me, as my work is tightly related to the GTC and CanariCam. Many instrumentation groups gave talks about their plans for this very special telescope. There are a lot of great ideas and projects going on. From the information I got and from my own personal opinion, I think that the GTC will do very well soon.”
Dan Li is currently focused on getting his PhD degree, which will happen in one or two years. Eventually, he wishes to become a professor and do research. In the long term he would like to do something for his home country, China, and contribute to reduce the gap between Chinese and Western astronomy.
“Being an astronomer is not a job one does just for survival. I love the starry nights and the feeling you get when you are up in the mountain, under the shining stars and the Milky Way. Then I realize that I really enjoy my job and this is something that not everyone can have in their lives.”
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