John Bird (scientist)

John Clifford Bird (born April 4, 1955) is a Canadian engineer, scientist, and journalist. Bird’s research has included laser physics, atmospheric physics, and materials in microgravity. He broke the world altitude record for hang gliding by launching from a helium balloon at 35,000 ft, and spent a year at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which was documented in his book One Day, One Night: Portraits of the South Pole.

Early career

Bird’s career started as the youngest NASA-accredited journalist covering the Apollo 13 launch.[1][2] Bird broke the world altitude record for hang gliding by piloting a hang glider from a helium balloon at 35,000’.[3][4]

Education

Bird began his Ph.D. at NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center, studying the aurora.[5] He went on to study the atmosphere with wide angle interferometers at York University under Gordon G. Shepherd, where he was awarded a Ph.D. for developing a polarizing version of an optical interferometer. The Polarizing Atmospheric Michelson Interferometer, PAMI, developed by Bird, was discussed in Spectral Imaging of the Atmosphere.[6] It employs a polarization tuning technique with no internal moving parts, instead scanning with a polarizer external to the interferometer. The PAMI was demonstrated in an observation campaign where its performance was compared to a Fabry-Perot spectrometer, and employed to measure E-region winds.[7] During post-doctoral studies with the University of Waterloo, Bird trained with the astronauts in zero-g aircraft to investigate laser interactions with materials in zero-gravity.[8]

Scientific research

Bird went on to study the arctic atmosphere with a LIDAR system including measurements of aerosols,[9] chlorine monoxide,[10] and ozone.[11]

He was selected to spend a year at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station, to study the aurora and upper atmosphere.[12] Bird’s South Pole Pendulum Project (as discussed in The New York Times [13] and excerpted from Seven Tales of the Pendulum[14]) “is probably the closest ever made to one of the earth's poles. The pendulum was erected in a six-story staircase of a new station that was under construction near the pole. The new station offered an ideal venue for the Foucault pendulum; its height ensured an accurate result, no moving air could disturb it, and low air pressure reduced air resistance. The researchers confirmed about 24 hours as the rotation period of the plane of oscillation.”

His Antarctica adventures were documented in his book, One Day, One Night: Portraits of the South Pole, which won honorable mention for nonfiction at the 2016 New York Book Festival,[15] and was a finalist at the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards[16]. The book was reviewed by Parade.[17]

Bird spoke at the 2016 global climate summit, COP22, in Marrakech, Morocco,[18] and discussed climate change and extreme weather with Jesse Ventura on Ventura’s television show.[19]

References
  1. Williams, Stan (April 14, 1970). "His Biggest Thrill". Edmonton Journal.
  2. Reid, Charles (April 12, 1970). "Space Nut Among His Pals". Florida Today. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  3. Barrett, Tom (August 1, 1982). "Bird Soars to Record". Edmonton Journal. p. 1.
  4. The Guinness Book of Records, 1987, p254.
  5. Bird, J.; Swenson, Gary R.; Comfort, Richard H. (1985). "Auroral Thermosphere Temperatures from Observations of the 6300 A Emissions" (PDF). NASA Tm. 86530. Bibcode:1985atto.rept.....B. OCLC 33330729.
  6. Shepherd, G. G. (2002). Spectral Imaging of the Atmosphere. Academic Press. OCLC 690382091.
  7. Bird, J.; G. G. Shepherd; C. A. Tepley (1995). "Comparison of lower thermospheric winds measured by a Polarizing Michelson Interferometer and a Fabry-Perot spectrometer during the AIDA campaign". Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics. 55 (3): 313–324. Bibcode:1993JATP...55..313B. doi:10.1016/0021-9169(93)90071-6.
  8. Mueller, R.E.; Bird, J. C.; Duley, W.W. (1992). "Laser drilling into an absorbing liquid". Journal of Applied Physics. 71 (2): 551–556. Bibcode:1992JAP....71..551M. doi:10.1063/1.350404.
  9. Donovan, D.P.; Carswell, A. I.; Shibata, T.; Bird, J.C.; Duck, T.; Itabe, T.; Nagai, T.; Pal, S. R.; Uchino, O.; Whiteway, J. A. (2007). "Multiwavelength lidar aerosol measurements made at Eureka (80 N, 86 W) during early 1995". Geophysical Research Letters. 25 (D16): 3139–3142. Bibcode:1998GeoRL..25.3139D. doi:10.1029/98GL52328.
  10. Donovan, D.P.; Fast, H.; Makino, Y.; Bird, J. C.; Carswell, A. I.; Davies, J.; Duck, T. J.; Kaminski, J.W.; McElroy, R. L.; Mittermeier, R. L.; Pal, S. R.; Savastiouk, R. L.; Velkov, D.; Whiteway, J. A. (1997). "Ozone, Column ClO, and PSC measurements made at the NDSC Eureka observatory (80* N, 86* W) during the spring of 1997". Geophysical Research Letters. 24 (22): 2709–2712. Bibcode:1997GeoRL..24.2709D. doi:10.1029/97GL52828.
  11. Donovan, D.P.; Bird, J. C.; Whiteway, J. A.; Duck, T. J.; Pal, S. R.; Carswell, A. I.; Sandilands, T. J.; Kaminski, J. W. (1996). "Ozone and aerosol observed by Lidar in the Canadian Arctic during the winter of 1995/96". Geophysical Research Letters. 23 (23): 3317–3320. Bibcode:1996GeoRL..23.3317D. doi:10.1029/96GL03230.
  12. Gardner, C.S.; Plane, J.M.C; Pan, W.; Vondra, T.; Murray, B.J.; Chu, X. (2005). "Seasonal variations of the Na and Fe layers at the South Pole and their implications for the chemistry and general circulation of the polar mesosphere". Journal of Geophysical Research. 110 (D10): 2156–2202. Bibcode:2005JGRD..11010302G. doi:10.1029/2004JD005670.
  13. Johnson, George (September 24, 2002). "Here They Are, Science's 10 Most Beautiful Experiments". The New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  14. Baker, G. P. (2011). Seven Tales of the Pendulum. Oxford University Press. p. 388. ISBN 978-0-19-958951-7.
  15. "2016 NEW YORK BOOK FESTIVAL WINNERS 2017". Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  16. "Winners and Finalists 2017". Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  17. Hughes, Becky (January 31, 2018). "Explore Life at the South Pole in One Day, One Night: Portraits of the South Pole". Parade. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  18. "SIGEF 2016 Speakers". Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  19. "The World according to Jesse, March 9, 2018". Retrieved August 1, 2018.
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