{"id":1308,"date":"2015-11-11T13:23:34","date_gmt":"2015-11-11T18:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/?p=1308"},"modified":"2017-02-09T12:11:28","modified_gmt":"2017-02-09T17:11:28","slug":"a-stellar-contribution-fw15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/2015\/a-stellar-contribution-fw15\/","title":{"rendered":"A Stellar Contribution"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dr

Astronomer Walter Bonsack investigated stellar magnetism to determine the physical conditions inside stars. Photo by Rajah Bose.<\/p><\/div>\n

Among the opportunities available to astronomy students at Case Western Reserve, one of the most attractive is the chance to do research at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Ariz. Since 1979, Kitt Peak has been the home of the university\u2019s Burrell Schmidt telescope, a device powerful enough to explore faint star streams in the Virgo galaxy cluster, 50 million light years from Earth.<\/p>\n

Walter Bonsack<\/strong> (CIT \u201954) remembers that telescope from his college days. As a senior at Case Institute of Technology, he used it to collect data for his undergraduate thesis. Back then, however, the telescope wasn\u2019t perched on a mountaintop in the southwestern United States. Instead, it occupied a domed brick building on Taylor Road in East Cleveland: the Warner and Swasey Observatory.<\/p>\n

Bonsack\u2019s early experience with the Burrell Schmidt laid the foundation for his future career. After earning a doctorate at Caltech, he joined the astronomy faculty at Ohio State in 1960. Six years later, he was invited to join a team of scientists developing the University of Hawaii\u2019s Mauna Kea Observatories. By the time Bonsack retired in 1987, Mauna Kea was well on its way to becoming the world\u2019s largest center for astronomical research. Today, it has 13 optical\/infrared, submillimeter and radio telescopes stationed at an altitude of 14,000 feet.<\/p>\n

Out of gratitude for the education he received at CIT, Bonsack began making gifts to the Case Alumni Association in the 1960s\u2014\u201cas soon as I had a steady income,\u201d he recalls. In recent years, he has designated two departments in the College of Arts and Sciences\u2014astronomy and physics\u2014as the beneficiaries of his donations. He has also corresponded with Professor Chris Mihos<\/strong>, who served as chair of the astronomy department from 2009 until summer 2015. In one of their email exchanges, Bonsack wrote, \u201cI want to congratulate you and your colleagues for the fine and important work you are doing at the front line of modern research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sally and Walter Bonsack at their home in Spokane Valley, Wash. Aug. 17, 2015 for Case Western. (Photo by Rajah Bose)<\/p><\/div>\n

Now, Bonsack and his wife, Sally, have made a will commitment to support physics and astronomy education at Case Western Reserve. Under the terms of their gift, the college may fund scholarships, support undergraduate and graduate research, purchase lab equipment or address other relevant needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Bonsack\u2019s story is a great reminder of the value of student research experiences,\u201d says astronomy Professor and Chair Stacy McGaugh.<\/strong> \u201cWe are fortunate to have alumni as successful\u2014and generous\u2014as Dr. Bonsack, and are grateful for his commitment to help future generations of students share similar experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Fascinating Subject<\/h3>\n

A Cleveland native, Bonsack was intrigued by science and technology from an early age. When he was accepted to CIT in 1950, however, he hadn\u2019t yet settled on any particular field. His father, a metallurgical engineer, said to him, \u201cGo study physics.\u201d<\/p>\n

During their first year, physics majors were required to take a general astronomy course taught by Professor Jason J. Nassau<\/strong>. \u201cI had no previous exposure to the subject, and found it fascinating,\u201d Bonsack recalls. The head of CIT\u2019s astronomy program, Nassau had earned an international reputation for his discoveries concerning the distribution and brightness of stars in the Milky Way. He was also the founding director of the Warner and Swasey Observatory, which, through his efforts, had become one of the first research facilities in the country to acquire a Schmidt-type telescope.<\/p>\n

By his sophomore year, Bonsack had landed a job at the observatory. He helped out during \u201cpublic nights\u201d for amateur stargazers\u2014events that demonstrated Nassau\u2019s commitment to educating the larger community about astronomy. Occasionally, he was allowed to assist with the telescope. He even moved into the observatory\u2014the position provided him with a room along with a salary. \u201cMy work was apparently satisfactory,\u201d he says, and he spent the next two summers as a full-time assistant.<\/p>\n

\"telescope_sized2\"

Professor Jason J. Nassau, founding director of the Warner and Swasey Observatory, led the effort to obtain a Schmidt-type telescope for the facility. Walter Bonsack took Nassau’s introductory astronomy course and worked as an undergraduate assistant at the observatory. Photo courtesy of CWRU Department of Astronomy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Majoring in astronomy wasn’t an option at CIT, but Bonsack didn\u2019t mind. \u201cI thoroughly enjoyed physics,\u201d he explains, \u201cand always saw astronomy as a way to apply physics to remote and mysterious objects.\u201d For his senior project, he obtained approval to conduct research with the Burrell Schmidt. Bonsack analyzed light from early-type stars to gain clues to their chemical composition. He carried out the project under the guidance of J\u00fcrgen Stock, a postdoctoral fellow who had used a Schmidt telescope at G\u00f6ttingen University in Germany. His leather-bound thesis, A Photoelectric Study of Stellar Spectra<\/em>, still stands on a shelf in the astronomy department\u2019s library, a testament to a long tradition of undergraduate research at Case Western Reserve and its predecessor institutions.<\/p>\n

For a while after Bonsack graduated, the Warner and Swasey Observatory continued operating, as did similar facilities in other American cities. But as urban skies filled with light pollution, it became necessary to shift research telescopes to alternative sites. The Burrell Schmidt was reinstalled in Geauga County in 1957, at what became the Nassau Astronomical Observing Station, and ultimately at Kitt Peak. Over the decades, it has been upgraded several times; a wide-field digital camera and other modifications have made it one of the world\u2019s premier telescopes studying diffuse starlight in galaxies.<\/p>\n

Bonsack himself started working at mountaintop observatories\u2014Palomar and Mount Wilson\u2014as a doctoral student in southern California. Later, while at Ohio State, he did research at Lowell Observatory, 7,000 feet above sea level, in Flagstaff, Ariz. But these experiences didn\u2019t fully prepare him for Mauna Kea. When the University of Hawaii started building observatories on the summit, there were concerns that the reduced oxygen levels at 14,000 feet would affect scientists\u2019 ability to function. \u201cThe first time I went up there, I nearly passed out,\u201d Bonsack says. \u201cThey had to help me down the mountain.\u201d Before long, however, he and his colleagues became acclimated to the site. Today, astronomers mostly work on lower ground and operate the telescopes remotely.<\/p>\n

His first assignment in Hawaii, Bonsack says, \u201cwas to design some of the instrumentation for the 2.2-meter telescope on Mauna Kea as well as to establish a teaching program at the university. It was a fun time.\u201d Later, he devoted himself to observing stellar magnetism and other properties of early-type stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the magnetic field of a star is generated in its interior, studying stellar magnetism helps astronomers work out the physical conditions inside a star,\u201d Mihos explains. \u201cOne of Dr. Bonsack’s specialties was studying how the magnetic field changes over time. Sometimes these changes can be quite fast and abrupt, and are linked to things like how fast the star is rotating, how hot or cool it is and what its chemical composition is like. He was working on these questions throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and these continue to be very important questions today.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Lot of Opportunity<\/h3>\n

More than six decades after completing his studies at CIT, Bonsack still feels lucky to have worked with outstanding teachers and mentors and to have embarked on his stellar investigations with an instrument as sophisticated as the Burrell Schmidt. But he has also been pleased to learn that, in some respects, his successors at CWRU have more choices than he did. Today, undergraduates can declare a major in astronomy. They are actively encouraged to pursue research, at Kitt Peak and elsewhere, and to present their findings at scientific conferences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of opportunity that simply wasn\u2019t there when I was a student,\u201d Bonsack says. As an alumnus and a donor, he adds, \u201cI\u2019m glad that\u2019s being done.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Among the opportunities available to astronomy students at Case Western Reserve, one of the most attractive is the chance to do research at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Ariz. Since 1979, Kitt Peak has been the home of the university\u2019s Burrell Schmidt telescope, a device powerful enough to explore faint star streams in the Virgo galaxy cluster, 50 million light years from Earth. …Read more.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":1440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artscimedia.case.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/147\/2015\/11\/14215355\/bonsack_featured.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1308"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1924,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308\/revisions\/1924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}