Personal
Yes, there is a picture of me buried on this page from my wedding last summer!
You can contact me via e-mail at johnforbes@cfa.harvard.edu
Find me on twitter @redshiftless
Fun facts about me: I'm a huge fan of science fiction & board games. My favorites of the former include The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, and Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. If we're ever in the same city and you need someone for a game, count me in. My current favorite is Alchemists, though for scientists some of the game mechanics (like losing a point of reputation for having too few theories published at a conference) might hit a bit close to home.
On a more serious note, I also care a lot about social justice in & out of astronomy. Many institutions have taken steps to improve equity in their departments at the junior level, including removing the physics GRE as a requirement for graduate admissions (see James Guillochon's compilation of departments and their GRE status here), but much more needs to be done, especially at the faculty level. Departments and hiring committees have a lot of power in this arena, so this is a problem where we astronomers can make a big difference.
FAQ:
Q: Where are you from?
A: The Chicago suburbs
Q: Ah, so you're used to this weather?
A: Yep, Boston & Chicago are usually pretty similar weather-wise.
Q: Are you related to Steve Forbes?
A: Nope, at least not within the past few hundred years.
Q: Wait, aren't you a Hubble Fellow at UC Irvine?
A: Nope, you're thinking of Marcel Pawlowski - one of at least 3 doppelgangers I have among astronomers ~my age.
Q: How did you like Caltech?
A: I didn't get a lot of sleep, so my memory's a bit spotty.
Q: Who's the coolest celebrity you've met?
A: (just kidding no one asks that) Barack Obama when he was running for senate in 2004!
You can contact me via e-mail at johnforbes@cfa.harvard.edu
Find me on twitter @redshiftless
Fun facts about me: I'm a huge fan of science fiction & board games. My favorites of the former include The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, and Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. If we're ever in the same city and you need someone for a game, count me in. My current favorite is Alchemists, though for scientists some of the game mechanics (like losing a point of reputation for having too few theories published at a conference) might hit a bit close to home.
On a more serious note, I also care a lot about social justice in & out of astronomy. Many institutions have taken steps to improve equity in their departments at the junior level, including removing the physics GRE as a requirement for graduate admissions (see James Guillochon's compilation of departments and their GRE status here), but much more needs to be done, especially at the faculty level. Departments and hiring committees have a lot of power in this arena, so this is a problem where we astronomers can make a big difference.
FAQ:
Q: Where are you from?
A: The Chicago suburbs
Q: Ah, so you're used to this weather?
A: Yep, Boston & Chicago are usually pretty similar weather-wise.
Q: Are you related to Steve Forbes?
A: Nope, at least not within the past few hundred years.
Q: Wait, aren't you a Hubble Fellow at UC Irvine?
A: Nope, you're thinking of Marcel Pawlowski - one of at least 3 doppelgangers I have among astronomers ~my age.
Q: How did you like Caltech?
A: I didn't get a lot of sleep, so my memory's a bit spotty.
Q: Who's the coolest celebrity you've met?
A: (just kidding no one asks that) Barack Obama when he was running for senate in 2004!
