Voting Station

Martin Ryle

Please vote to return to collections.

Astronomer

The Resume

    (September 22, 1918-October 14, 1984)
    Born in Brighton, Sussex, England, United Kingdom
    First professor of radio astronomy at Cambridge
    Founded the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory (1957)
    Developed aperture synthesis, which produced higher-resolution images by mixing signals from multiple radio telescopes located several miles apart
    Astronomer Royal (1972-82)
    Co-recipient (with Anthony Hewish) of the Nobel Prize in Physics for advances in radio astronomy (1974)
    Nephew of philosopher Gilbert Ryle
    Knighted (1966)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was accused on instilling a 'fortress Cambridge' mentality within his research group that precipitated conflicts with outsiders.
    During a lecture by Fred Hoyle, he became so incensed at Hoyle's steady-state universe arguments that he rushed to the blackboard and began erasing Hoyle's equations.
    He said, 'At times one feels that one should almost have a car sticker saying 'Stop Science Now,' because we're getting clever and cleverer, but we do not increase the wisdom to go with it.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    Growing up, he was trained at home in carpentry; later in life, he would use his training to build boats of his own design.
    During World War II, he designed antennas for radar equipment on planes.
    During a wartime meeting with Lord Cherwell, Prime Minister Churchill's friend and science advisor, he was unafraid to dismiss one of Cherwell's pet projects as 'utter bloody rubbish.'
    American astronomer Jesse Greenstein said he 'instills an incredible personal devotion in all who work with him.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying