Posted
on 03/19/2012
2:12 PM |
Updated
03/19/2012
8:51 PM
REINA REYES.
From the Kavli
Institute for
Cosmological
Physics
website.
MANILA,
Philippines -
Think of
Filipinos who
have astounded
the world
lately, and
the first
names that
come to mind
are likely to
be Manny
Pacquiao or
Charice. The
two definitely
earned their
Pinoy-pride
accolades, but
they aren’t
the only ones
who deserve
it.
Meet
Reinabelle
Reyes, a
28-year-old
astrophysicist
who astounded
scientists all
over the world
when she
proved
Einstein’s
Theory of
General
Relativity
on a cosmic
scale. That
was when she
was only 26.
Einstein’s
theories have
been verified
many times,
but it took
Reyes and her
Princeton
University
collaborators
to verify his
Theory of
General
Relativity,
beyond the
confines of
our solar
system.
Led by
Reyes, the
research team
made headlines
back in 2010
when they
showed how
galaxies up to
3.5 billion
light years
away are
clustered
together in
exactly the
way General
Relativity
predicts. They
came up with a
new
astronomical
measurement,
which
indicates how
galaxies are
pulled
together by
gravity, just
as Einstein
theorized.
Her
findings also
support the
existence of
Dark
Energy—a
force greater
than gravity
once merely
imagined by
scientists.
This is a big
deal, because,
even
NASA
tells us,
pinning down
the exact
properties of
Dark Energy is
among the most
significant
problems
facing science
today.
According to
the NASA
website, Dark
Energy “is the
deepest
mystery in
physics, and
its resolution
is likely to
greatly
advance our
understanding
of matter,
space, and
time.”
Reinabelle
Reyes is among
the scientists
involved in
unraveling
this profound
mystery.
She was
in Manila
recently to
give a series
of talks, and
I had the
chance to
catch up with
her at the
Manila
Observatory in
the Ateneo
Loyola campus.
She is a
graduate of
the Loyola
school
herself,
earning her BS
Physics Degree
from Ateneo
and graduating
summa cum
laude—before
getting her
PhD in
Astrophysics
from
Princeton.
She
says she will
always have a
passion for
studying the
stars. Yet
admits she
wouldn’t be
fulfilled if
she didn’t
work on more
immediate
earth-bound
problems—especially
since she
comes from a
country with a
long list of
them.
When we
met, I had
almost missed
her. Dressed
in jeans and a
T-shirt that
said
“Schrodinger’s
cat is a
zombie,” she
looked more
like a
student. Among
a myriad of
other things,
she told me
who
Schrodinger
was. This girl
is passionate.
If we weren’t
pressed for
time, she
could have
gone on and on
about the
country’s lack
of disaster
preparedness
and improving
K12 education
in the
Philippines.
The country
needs more
scientists!
Eventually,
she hopes to
be part of the
solution.
As her
schedule was
packed, we had
to continue
our
conversation
over e-mail, a
portion of
which appears
below. Some of
the things she
was candid
about—winning
the Nobel
Prize,
disproving
Einstein, the
arrogance of
scientists,
God, and the
Dalai Lama.
REACHING FOR
THE STARS.
Reina Reyes is
driven by her
passion for
the stars.
In a
way that
non-scientists
can
understand,
how exactly
did you come
up with a
confirmation
of Einstein's
Theory of
General
Relativity?
Every
theory makes
predictions,
and to pass
the test of
science, these
predictions
must match
what we
observe. In
our study, we
combined
different
types of
observations
of 70,000
galaxies and
compared the
result with
the prediction
from
Einstein's
theory. They
match! So we
say that we
have confirmed
the theory.
What's
special about
this test is
that it could
have gone
another way.
That is, the
answer could
not have
matched the
prediction—and
that
would be a
signature of
new physics, a
signal that
Einstein could
be wrong.
Right
now, I'm part
of a team of
scientists
working on a
new and bigger
galaxy survey
called the
Dark Energy
Survey (DES).
This means
that in 2017,
we will be
able to do the
test again,
and put
Einstein's
theory to an
even more
stringent
test, so stay
tuned!
So
maybe you
could get the
Nobel in 2017
or 2018?
There
is potential
for a Nobel
Prize-winning
work here --
but one, it
won't go to
me, it would
go to the
senior
scientists who
lead the team.
Two, it would
be awarded
many, many
years after.
Recall that
most laureates
get them in
their 70s and
80s for work
done in their
20s or 30s!
How do
you think your
childhood
shaped you as
a scientist?
I
credit my
parents for
exposing me to
books and
computers at
an early age.
My mom was an
early adopter
of the home
computer and I
played
educational
games—in
DOS!—as a kid.
I also learned
how to touch
type with a
Mario Bros
typing game.
It's a skill I
now get to use
and take
advantage of
every day.
I had
no pressure to
do well in
school, but I
did get
encouragement
at crucial
points. In
kindergarten,
I apparently
got bored
because I
already knew
what the
teacher was
teaching and
my mom told me
that I should
raise my hand
and
participate in
class. This
got me on the
honor roll,
but more
importantly,
it saved me
from being
disenchanted
from school.
Does
being a woman
or a Filipino
make it more
difficult in
some ways?
It’s still a
male-dominated
field.
Astrophysics
is actually
one of the
relatively
better off
fields, with
30% women in
postdoc
positions (me
included), and
15% in tenured
faculty
positions. The
figures are
even lower for
theoretical
particle
physics, for
example.
I
should say
that here in
the
Philippines,
we don't have
quite the same
problem that
the US and the
West have. For
example,
there, there
is a strong
stereotype of
the White,
male
scientist. In
our society,
we don't even
have a public
image of a
Filipino
scientist,
much less a
stereotype—except
those acquired
from the West,
which, of
course, is
also
problematic.
I find
that one
significant
difference is
that our
society has no
problem with
women leaders,
not only in
the sciences.
I can see and
feel this
difference,
especially
during my
recent visit
to Manila,
after 5 years
of living in
the US.
COMMUNICATING.
Relaying data
to the public
through
visuals
matters.
Disaster
preparedness
and improving
science
education are
problems you
hope to solve
some day. Why
these problems
in particular?
Can you let us
in on some of
your plans, as
to how you can
contribute to
addressing
them?
I'm
particularly
passionate
about
communicating
data to the
public in a
way that is
both
attractive and
easy to
understand.
One particular
way to do this
is through
visuals, that
is, through
"data
visualization."
As a
scientist, I
look at graphs
all the time.
In fact, I make
them all the
time. I
understand
that a typical
graph I look
at will not
make sense to
you, as is.
But I can also
make graphs
that are
beautiful and
at the same
time tell a
story to the
reader, all
the while
showing the
power of data
in improving
our
understanding
of the world.
This, for me,
is the
exciting art
and science of
data
visualization.
I've
started making
my own
infographics
and plan to do
many more,
covering a
wide range of
topics,
including
disasters,
demographics,
economics, and
even sports.
Watch out for
them in my
data
visualization
blog on
Rappler,
coming out
soon!
What do
you do when
you're not
being a
physicist?
What excites
you aside from
the thought of
one day having
a 30-meter
telescope?
I read
a lot. I
follow blogs.
I follow
basketball.
I'm excited by
the prospect
of another
championship
for the San
Antonio Spurs!
Of
course you
like to read! Favorite
books?
Some
books that
made an impact
on me, in no
particular
order:
Contact by
Carl Sagan.
The movie with
Jodie Foster
is not bad
either, but
different from
the book and
finished
after Sagan's
death.
Letters
to a Young
Poet by
Maria Rainer
Rilke speaks
to my soul.
Novels
of Haruki
Murakami
stimulate my
right brain
and induce
vivid, "weird"
dreams.
Nonfiction
of Malcolm
Gladwell—Tipping
Point, Outliers,
his New
Yorker
articles.
Ilustrado by
Miguel Syjuco.
I re-read it
in preparation
for my visit
to Manila. I
look forward
to his next
work.
What
I'm reading
now is the
debut novel of
Fil-Am author
Alex Gilvarry,
From the
Memoirs of a
Non-enemy
Combatant.
The
protagonist is
a Filipino
"fashion
terrorist" in
New York. Very
refreshing to
see a fully
fleshed out
Filipino
character, in
a work filled
with insight,
humor, and
heart.
In an
article, I
read you had
mentioned
reading Ethics
for a New
Millenniumby
the Dalai
Lama.
I think
the Dalai
Lama's message
of compassion
is a good one
to hear and
heed. I'm
impressed with
his openness
to dialogue
with
scientists—in
particular, he
has encouraged
Buddhist monks
and scholars
to collaborate
with
neuroscientists
to better
understand our
minds.
Scientists
are usually
skeptical
about God. Do
you believe in
God? Does your
work prove to
you that he
exists or does
it make you
think more
critically
about
religion?
I don't
personally
believe in
God. I think
science does
make one more
critical of
religion, but
I also
understand
faith. It's
just that I
don't have
any, at least
not in a
higher Being.
- Rappler.com
Reinabelle
Reyes wants
more of us to
understand
science and
how it
operates in
our lives.
