Interview of Syun-Ichi Akasofu by Karen Nichols Brewster
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Date
2005-07-12T19:31:32Z
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Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program
Abstract
Dr. Akasofu, the internationally known expert on Arctic auroras, was born in Japan in 1930. As a child he developed an interest in learning and science from his parents, and from the excellent local school system. His town was close to several active volcanoes, and this fact furthered his interest in science. For several years his education was completely disrupted by World War II, but when the war ended Akasofu enrolled in the university to study geophysics. He planned to be a weather forecaster. This led to the study of meteorology, seismology, and atmospheric physics. As a graduate student, he focused on the study of the aurora, and this took him to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) in December 1958. He earned his Ph.D. there in 1961. The UAF was the only place in the world for auroral studies at this time. He worked under the direction of Dr. Sydney Chapman, the President of the International Geophysical Year (IGY). He worked very hard to improve his skills in writing and speaking English; as a child he had learned to read English easily. Akasofu was treated well by his American associates in Alaska. Any lingering effects from the war were "practically zero." He was particularly close to Chapman. They co-authored some fifty scientific papers before Chapman's death in 1970.
The UAF was an official repository for an immense collection of pictures taken throughout the northern hemisphere as part of the All-Sky Camera Project, a cooperative effort by scientists from Russia, Norway, Canada, and the United States. Their goal was to film the entire northern sky each night from more than 100 cameras in multiple locations between Thule, Greenland and Alaska. Every minute a picture was taken from one or more of these locations. Each camera could film only 1/30th of the whole polar ice cap. When assembled, however, all-sky photographs were produced. Akasofu's study of these films led to his discovery of the "auroral substorm," and his pioneering paper from 1964 on this topic became one of the most frequently cited papers in the literature. The U.S. military had a special interest in the aurora because when it appeared in the night sky, communication by short wave radio was impossible. The aurora wipes out the short wave. Consequently the U.S. Congress authorized construction of the Alaska Highway as an alternate, if much slower, means of communication, and established the Geophysical Institute (GI) at UAF in 1946 to study the aurora and other geophysical phenomena. Chris Elvey was the first Director of the GI; Keith Mather was the second. Mather substantially widened the scope of the GI by bringing in specialists in seismology, atmospheric sciences, radio physics, and aurora spectroscopy, although the aurora remained the leading focus.
Akasofu recalled with pleasure his days as a graduate student at UAF. There were students from many countries, and many strong friendships were established. His mentor, as mentioned, was Sydney Chapman who treated Akasofu like a son. The two men both enjoyed swimming and mountain climbing. He also worked closely with Walter Orr Roberts who later established the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. Roberts was a solar physicist - he studied the sun. Akasofu, at the suggestion of Chapman, studied temporarily at the University of Colorado under Roberts, a contact that proved useful to him in many ways. One such benefit was that Roberts, through his contacts, raised half a million dollars so that the Geophysical Institute of UAF could purchase its first computer. After Akasofu completed his doctorate in 1961, he was immediately hired as an Assistant Professor, and became a Full Professor with tenure just three years later. Initially he rejected tenure since he had no idea what the word meant. In 1986, he became Director of the Geophysical Institute. His original intent was to stay only ten years as Director, but serious funding issues with the UAF prolonged his tenure. In 1989, Akasofu conceived the idea of starting an International Center at UAF, and with help from Vice President Gore, and also the government of Japan, the Center officially opened in August 1999. Akasofu was named Director. Within a short time the new International Arctic Research Center (IARC) had earned a stellar reputation, and graduate students from many countries, including Japan, enrolled there. Senator Stevens of Alaska organized a major conference at IARC on climate change. The Directors of NASA, NSF, and USGS attended this, among other dignitaries. Recently, a working relationship was established with the National Institute of Polar Research, a Japanese organization.
Akasofu recounted some of the discoveries he had made, or helped to make, in Arctic research. Working with other scientists, he discovered the source of the electrical generator that provided the electrical discharges necessary for creating auroras. It was found to be about ten times the radius of the Earth away from the Earth. Working with a Russian scientist, Yasha Feldstein, Akasofu pinpointed the precise location of the aurora in the northern skies. Since his findings challenged a long-accepted scientific paradigm, it took ten years to prove the accuracy of his findings. As part of his research he logged almost 300 hours of flying with the Air Force. Further details are provided in his book [title, publisher, and date of publication not stated]. He has also visited other Arctic locations such as Barrow, Alaska, Thule, Greenland, and Churchill, Manitoba, but has never been to Antarctica. His principal tasks in the field involved setting cameras, magnetometers, and instruments. In Fairbanks he spent most of his research time analyzing films.
In the course of his career, Akasofu has worked with many of the best-known scientists in his field. These included James Van Allen of the University of Iowa, discoverer of the Van Allen Radiation Belt, Hannes Alfven, the Swedish Nobel Prize winner, and Max Brewer. He also worked closely and harmoniously for many years with the Air Force, including some work on the "infamous HAAP" [also spelled HARP and HAARP], a scheme for using the aurora as an antennae for sending low-frequency radio waves to submerged submarines. Despite widespread criticism, even ridicule, the scientific basis of HAAP is now well established. Another aspect of aurora research is to provide a clue to possible life on other planets. Earth has a greenish aurora, but only because of the oxygen produced by billions of plants. Jupiter has a pinkish aurora because its atmosphere consists of hydrogen. If other planets could be found with greenish auroras similar to Earth's this could suggest the possibility of plants and other life forms there. To date none has been found. Most of his long research career has focused on auroral science, a field now called solar-terrestrial physics. His goal has been to better understand how solar activity affects the Earth, including magnetic disturbances. It is now possible to predict accurately when auroras will appear.
Akasofu was the Director of the Geophysical Institute (GI) for 13 years. Funding was increased three-fold during his tenure, from 10 million to 30 million annually. He also was chiefly responsible for upgrading the Poker Flats Research Range into a beautiful modern scientific facility. Another key innovation was the creation of the Alaska Volcano Observatory. This Observatory has developed a volcanic ash prediction program, very useful information to airlines, and it has attempted with varying success to develop cooperative ties with similar institutions around the world. He also worked for over ten years to establish the IARC.
Looking back over his career Akasofu believed he could not have found a better place anywhere to pursue his life-long interest in auroras than the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. While there he directed nine Ph.D. students, including Ching Meng of Johns Hopkins University. Nearing retirement he no longer has any graduate students or teaches formal classes. He noted also the many technological advances in his field, in particular the role of satellites and super-computers. These make it possible to do quickly what it once took many people working several years to accomplish. These amazing machines are solving problems that in Akasofu's younger days, the "Stone Age" of auroral science, could never have been mastered. To service these and other machines, Akasofu established a machine shop at the GI. One interesting machine developed there was a deboning machine, a device that has been patented and will be sold to salmon canneries. Another device invented in the machine shop was a drill bit that has been used to penetrate the ice cap of Greenland down to bedrock.
As a scientist born and raised in Japan, but who completed all of his graduate education in the United States, Akasofu has served as something of a bridge between the two cultures. The IARC is a joint Japanese-American enterprise. Areas of disagreement and occasional conflict are inevitable. But somehow all such differences were overcome. Another ongoing problem, never fully solved in Akasofu's forty years at UAF, was the lack of adequate office space for the GI and IARC. Construction of the Elvey Building only temporarily solved the problem. Finally, Akasofu has preserved numerous pictures, newspaper articles, and other professional materials that he indicated he would in time donate to the Archives.
Description
Dr. Sydney Chapman, expert on auroras, President of IGY, pp. 6-7, 9-10, 14-16, 18, 32
Chris Elvey, Director of the Geophysical Institute, pp. 6, 10, 12
Keith Mather, succeeded Elvey as Director of the Geophysical Institute at UAF, pp. 12, 46-47
Walter Orr Roberts, founder of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, pp.14, 18
William Wood, President, UAF, pp. 19-20
Yasha Feldstein, Russian scientist who helped Akasofu locate auroras more precisely, pp. 25-26
Hannes Alfven, Swedish scientist, p. 33
James Van Allen, Discoverer of Van Allen Radiation belt, pp. 32-33
Senator Stevens of Alaska, pp. 24, 38-39
Ching Meng, expert on auroras, Ph.D. student of Akasofu, p. 43
The media can be accessed at the links below.
Audio Part 1: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/byrd/oral_history/Syun-Ichi_Akasofu_1.mp3
Audio Part 2: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/byrd/oral_history/Syun-Ichi_Akasofu_2.mp3
The media can be accessed at the links below.
Audio Part 1: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/byrd/oral_history/Syun-Ichi_Akasofu_1.mp3
Audio Part 2: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/byrd/oral_history/Syun-Ichi_Akasofu_2.mp3
Keywords
Aurora, HAARP, the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program