It’s been a while since I posted my last True Anomalies episode, or really posted much of anything at all, and that’s because a great many things have been happening in my real life as a graduate student nearing (*gulp*) graduation. I think it’s time for a brief update.
First of all, I’m delighted to announce that I’ve received the 2013-14 Fellowship in the History of Space Technology from NASA and the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT). Since entering grad school several1 years ago, I’ve been working toward my Ph.D. in planetary science – specifically, surface roughness on the Moon and the statistics of cratered terrains. Somewhere in there I discovered that the history of this field is something I can really sink my teeth into, and I’ve been doing whatever I can since then to make it a pretty big part of my life2.
Caltech is a unique place. Its focus on science and engineering means that any interest in the humanities is both unorthodox and not the easiest passion to pursue, yet its small size pretty much guarantees a personal interaction with the administration that’s more flexible than usual. So it’s working out. All I have to do now is work. A lot. I’ll do my best to keep up True Anomalies in the meantime, but if posts are a bit few and far between, you’ll know why!