Physics professor emeritus named to Order of Ontario
A University of Windsor professor emeritus recognized as a world leader in atomic and
molecular physics will be invested in the Order of Ontario at a ceremony to be held at
Queen's Park on January 24.~
John William McConkey joined the UWindsor faculty in 1970 and taught here for more
than 35 years. Among previous honours, he is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada,
the British Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society; he served as a
Canada Council Killam Fellow from 1986 to 1988; in 1999 he received the Gold Medal
of the Canadian Association of Physicists for lifetime achievement in physics; and in
2004, the Will Allis Prize for the Study of Ionized Gases.
The Order of Ontario was created in 1986 by the Government of Ontario to recognize
the highest level of individual excellence and achievement in any field. The 27 recipients
named in December by Lieutenant Governor David Onley include a concentration camp
survivor, a former chief justice of Ontario and the director of the Royal Ontario Museum.
“These distinguished individuals are truly exemplary in their fields,” said Onley. “Our
province is richer for the breadth and depth of their contributions. Through drive and
determination they have pushed boundaries and serve as outstanding examples for all
Ontarians.”
Gordon Drake, head of the physics department, called the announcement of Dr.
McConkey's appointment "great news."
"We can all be proud of this recognition, and the honour that it brings to the Department
of Physics, and the University of Windsor," he said.
Physicist helps start the
countdown to space
exploration
When humans are finally able to make the journey to distant planets such as Jupiter,
they’ll owe a significant debt of gratitude to a UWindsor scientist who has devoted his
career to understanding the atmospheres of far-off spheres.~
Bill McConkey, a professor emeritus of physics, studies data transmitted back from
unmanned spacecraft in to understand the “space weather” that occurs around various
planets in our solar system.
“We’re just trying to help them to try to make sense of what they see,” says the softspoken scientist, who was named to the Order of Ontario in 2008 and is also a fellow of
the Royal Society of Canada.
A regular collaborator with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California,
Dr. McConkey is attempting to simulate how energy is transferred in Jupiter’s
atmosphere and the surrounding space environment.
Understanding that process is important for space exploration, but it’s necessary for
understanding our own atmosphere too, says Charles Malone, a former PhD student of
McConkey’s who began working at the NASA lab in Pasadena after he graduated in
2003.
Read the full story below.
Space reader
Understanding the conditions in space is vital
for future space missions to Jupiter and
beyond.
By Stephen Fields
Posted on August 6, 2009
Jupiter
NASA/ESA
(Article courtesy of the University of Windsor)
Bill McConkey probably won’t be around to see the day when humans are finally able
to travel tremendous stretches through outer space to distant planets such as Jupiter.
When they do make that journey, however, they’ll owe a significant debt of gratitude
to a scientist who has devoted his vast intellectual ability to better our understanding
of the atmospheres of far-off spheres to pave the way for future space explorations.
McConkey, a world-renowned physicist and professor emeritus at the University of
Windsor, studies data transmitted back from unmanned spacecraft in order to
understand the “space weather” that occurs around the various planets in our solar
system.
“We’re just trying to help make sense of what the spacecraft see,” says the softspoken scientist, who was named to the Order of Ontario in 2008 and is also a Fellow
of the Royal Society of Canada.
A regular collaborator with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
California, McConkey is attempting to simulate how energy is transferred in Jupiter’s
atmosphere and the surrounding space environment. Io, one of Jupiter’s 63 moons,
spews sulphurous gases from active volcanoes into the atmosphere, which gives off
energy and generates sulphuric acid on Europa, a neighbouring moon. Electrons from
Jupiter’s plasma torus, the cloud of ionized gas that encircles the planet, hit the
sulphur atoms and excite them, causing them to emit energy in the form of light.
Back in McConkey’s lab, his students inject various gases that include sulphur into a
complex experimental vacuum system, hit them with an electron beam and examine
the light that’s emitted by splitting it into its various wavelengths.
Understanding that energy-transfer process is important for space exploration, but it’s
necessary for understanding our own atmosphere too, says Charles Malone, a former
PhD student of McConkey’s who began working at the NASA lab in Pasadena after
he graduated in 2003.
Physicist Bill McConkey, (at left) post-doctoral fellow Stephen Brotton, and student
Amanda DiCarlo examine the vacuum system.
Stephen Fields
Part of NASA’s research goals, says Malone, is to understand the sun’s effects on the
solar system, as well as the fundamental physical processes of outer planetary
atmospheres in order to predict the extreme and dynamic conditions in space. Data
and models from his lab are used to interpret observations from spacecraft such as the
Voyager, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Galileo and Cassini missions.
“It’s a multi-faceted approach to understanding how the solar system works,” explains
Malone. “How energy is being dumped in the atmosphere affects a lot of things.
Satellites can be knocked out of commission, and power outages can result. Even
though these things seem out of reach for the average layperson, they can have
profound effects on people, so it definitely relates to our own world. The northern
lights are a fantastic visual example of these atmospheric interactions.”
It was while he was working as an undergraduate with his mentor at the University of
Windsor, recalls Malone, that it occurred to him that finding employment someday
with the space agency wasn’t such a far-fetched idea.
“He was a fantastic influence,” he says of McConkey. “He was a great role model. He
has a certain way about him that just lends itself to success. He always had a great
ability to put things into perspective.”
The ever humble McConkey says his work is just a small portion of a broader attempt
to advance the understanding of our universe, but not an insignificant one.
“Our contribution is a tiny component of the larger picture,” he says, “but every little
bit counts.”