Dr. Carolyn Kierans is an astrophysicist who has dedicated her career to unraveling the mysteries of antimatter and the 'MeV gap' - a band of medium-energy gamma rays that few telescopes can see. Her journey into astronomy was unexpected, as she initially pursued a career in physics education, inspired by her mother's teaching. However, a summer co-op at TRIUMF, Canada's national particle physics laboratory, sparked her interest in research and instrument building. This led her to UC Berkeley, where she discovered the world of gamma-ray astronomy and the challenges of building and flying detectors into space.
One of her most significant contributions was the COSI experiment, which successfully captured the galaxy's 511 keV antimatter glow using a balloon-borne telescope. This success paved the way for COSI to become a full NASA satellite mission, scheduled for launch in 2027. Dr. Kierans is now working on the data pipeline for this mission.
Her upcoming plenary lecture at the 248th meeting of the American Astronomical Society is a tribute to the instrument-builders and pipeline-writers who make science possible. She will discuss ComPair, a prototype mission she leads as Principal Investigator, which aims to prove the technology for a future mission that could finally cover the entire MeV gap. The launch of ComPair was a nerve-wracking but rewarding experience, and Dr. Kierans hopes to inspire the next generation of telescope builders.
Dr. Kierans' advice to students considering grad school is to find a mentor, ideally someone who looks like them. She believes that seeing someone who looks like them in a position of authority can change everything. Her plenary lecture is not just a celebration of telescopes and discoveries, but also a reminder of the years of unglamorous building that come before. It is an invitation to the next generation of telescope builders, and a call to action for those who are reading this article.
