It's already Day Four of the ARIA Blog Tour and today I bring to you Kim Arcand, ARIA's resident NASA member. Kim took some time to stop gazing at the stars to talk a little about herself and her projects.
Mike:
Hi, Kim.
I’m very excited to present the very first person who works for NASA
from the Association of Rhode Island Authors (ARIA) to my Overlords fan base. We’re going to do an old fashioned interview,
ok? Here we go!
Mike: Kim, please introduce yourself to my
Overlords fans with a little information about you and where you’re from.
Kim: Hi, I’m Kim Arcand. I
was born in Rhode Island, lived in Mass. for about a decade, and have been back
in RI for about 7 years now. I have been
working for a NASA mission for about 15 years.
I am the visualization lead for the Chandra X-ray Observatory that looks
at extremely hot regions of the Universe, from exploding stars to colliding
galaxies. I got my undergraduate degree in biology (mostly parasitology, so I
started out looking at pretty small things) before moving into computer science
and then finally astronomy. I recently
co-authored “Your Ticket to the Universe: A Guide to Exploring the Cosmos” from
Smithsonian Books (2013).
Mike: What are you working on
these days and what’s the current status of that project?
Kim: I like to think about
color and light. So one of the projects
I’m working on is a research study for image and meaning – how do people react
to science images, particularly data that allows us to see the invisible. I talk a lot about how we color the Universe. There is a process that gets us from data of
a celestial object that emits X-rays to a colored representation of that object
that we can see, enjoy and learn about, and it involves a lot of steps.
Mike: How did someone who works for a NASA mission
ever get the idea to write a book?
Kim: Well, it wasn’t my
idea at all. I can’t take any credit for that.
My colleague, Megan Watzke, and I had been working on a project for the UN’s
International Year of Astronomy back in 2009 and we were writing a lot of
articles and giving many talks to help promote it. A literary agent, Elizabeth Evans, saw one of
our articles and contacted us about a possible book. I had always wanted to write a book so this
was such a great opportunity. We wanted
to tell a story about astronomy that would be accurate and up to date, of
course, but also be fun and very accessible.
There are not a lot of female authors in astronomy so that was another
great aspect about getting to write our book.
Mike:
With all the scientific knowledge you’ve
accumulated over the years, do you have any desire to write a science fiction
novel?
Kim: I am going to confess
something shocking here: I work in astronomy yet I am not a SciFi junky. I
liked the X-files, and the original Star Wars, but if you look at my bookshelf
you would find mostly science and visualization books for non-fiction browsing
and a lot of period pieces for leisure reading (so, Dickens, Austen,
Heyer, and many other authors). I do love Margaret Atwood’s work, though I
think of her as more futuristic than SciFi.
Mike: Do you find yourself
silently analyzing the scientific accuracies of science fiction books and
movies?
Kim: I do! But I try hard
not to do that overmuch, and just enjoy the ride.
Mike:
Any desire to write about
something completely different?
Kim: Yes, I secretly want
to write a cookbook, that I would give a dorky name to, such as “Cooking with
the Stars.”
Mike: Any upcoming projects we should now about?
Kim: I am very excited for
the upcoming International Year of Light 2015, a resolution from the UN to get
folks talking about the science of light.
We are going to be working on a cross-cutting program on light, from
talking about brain scans, to bioluminescence, to atmospheric phenomena, to of
course, astrophysics. And I am really hoping to eventually turn some of that
work into a book … fingers crossed.
Mike:
OK, time for some quick ones, ready? Favorite movie?
Kim: I’m not a huge movie
fan, can I pick a TV series? If so, Downton Abbey.
Mike:
Favorite food or dish to make?
Kim: Butternut squash
lasagna. I’m like a vegetarian Garfield.
Mike:
Favorite place you have ever visited?
Kim: Paris, in January, so
there were no other tourists!
Mike: Favorite music band?
Kim: Radiohead. But I’m
very eclectic in musical taste and I enjoy many kinds, from chorale music by Eric
Whitacre to the Disney pop my kids listen to.
Mike: Favorite book, and no it can’t be one of
yours!
Kim: Pride and Prejudice.
Mike: Kim, thanks for being such a good sport! Is there anything you would like to leave my
fans with?
Kim: Thanks so much for
inviting me, Mike! The Universe is yours to discover.
Mike: Kim, once again it was great to have you here today and give my Overlords fans a little science insight. Please help Kim by buying her book and visiting her website by using the links below.
1 comment:
Very cool!
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