美國加州柏克萊大學太空物理學博士－潘載福 《His love of space keeps him grounded in his work and life philosophy》

An interview with Dr. Tai Phan, UC Berkeley Space Physicist.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
A: My name is Tai Phan. I am married with 2 children, a 15 year-old girl and a 12 year-        old boy. My super nice wife is Norwegian.  Our kids have 3 nationalities: Canadian,        Norwegian, and American. The kids think that this is cool because it allows them to        live (or study) in any of these countries, if desired.

Q: When did you attend Duc Duc School?
A: 1972-1974

Q: What grade were you in 1975?
A: 6th grade.

Q: Do you have fond memories of your years at Duc Duc School that you could share?
A: I have to confess that I do not remember much of Duc Duc,  perhaps because I was         young  (in  4th and  5th grades)  when I was there.  I  remember living in the school         itself  because  my  parents were teachers there.  My  friends  were mostly the other         teachers’ children. We played marbles in the street.

Q: Who was/were the teacher(s) who made an impact in your life?
A:  I  can’t  remember any teachers by names and  I wasn’t very mature in 4th and  5th          grades.  All  I  can remember is playing marbles in the street when I was in 4th and          5th grades.

Q: Can you tell us what kind of research that you do?
A: I  do research in  Astrophysics.  More  specifically  I  study how energy in magnetic       fields  is  converted  into  particle  energies.  It is  a  physical  process  that occurs in       many parts of the universe, including black holes, solar flares, and Earth’s aurora.

Q:What led you into this field in the first place?
A: Like many things in life,  things happened by chance.  When I was in high school in       Montreal,  Canada,  as a new immigrant,  my physics teacher was the one who went         out of his way to help me(after school) with class work. I have liked physics since. I       majored in  Physics at  McGill  University  (Montreal)  and got a summer job with a       professor in Alberta who studied the Aurora. I had so much fun with my summer job       that I decided to pursue graduate studies in that field in the US (Dartmouth College).

Q: What research project that you are currently working on?
A:  I am involved with a number of  US  and  European satellite missions that study the        magnetic  energy conversion process in  the  near-Earth  space.  The  work involves        analyzing  satellite data and interpreting them with the help of theory and computer          simulations,  which  I do in collaboration with colleagues around the world who are        involved in the same satellite projects.

Q: If  you  could  travel  back  in  time,  who would you like to meet and what will you         ask him/her?
A: It is not something I think about,  but if I can go back in time,  I would want to meet       a famous soccer player: Beckenbauer of Germany.

Q: What  has  been the most exciting development in physics during the course of your        career?
A: Personally,  it is the discoveries of exoplanets (planets outside of our solar system),         and  the  possibility  of  finding  life  in  outer  planets of our own  solar system. We         currently do not have direct evidence for life outside of  planet  Earth,  but there is a         chance  of  finding such lives in the  next  20-30  years on  the  moons of Saturn and       Jupiter. I am not involved in this kind of research but find it fascinating.

Q: Wow, that means it could happen in our lifetime.  How thrilling!  How do you make        people excited about space researches?
A: It is fun for me to explain in a  simple way  to  people I meet  (on the plane or in the       train) what causes the aurora (or northern lights).

Q: If  you get a chance to speak to a group of  high  school graduates,  what would you         tell them?
A: I  would tell them to find out what they  are  really  passionate  about  and  try to be         good at it.  If you are really good at it, chances are you can get a job doing it.  What         could be better than getting paid to do a hobby?  If  you are not sure about what you         want to do yet,  then  try to be broad  (and not specialized too early)  in college until       you can figure out what you are really passionate about.

Q: What  should  an   undergraduate to  be  focusing on in order to become a  physicist          and/or scientist?
A: Math and physics of course, but try to have fun in college by taking lots of electives        that are not science, like sports, language, etc.

Q: If you could travel through space, which planet would you want to visit and why?
A: I have no desire to travel in space. I just want to stay on Earth, on the ground.

Q: What kind of music do you listen to?  Who is  your  favorite  singer?  Your  favorite        band?
A: Sentimental  music.  My  favorite singer  might be  Leonard  Cohen.  Favorite  band        might be Pink Floyd.

Q: What is your proudest moment?
A: Proudest might be having two mostly happy kids.  Happiest  moments  might be (1)         April 30, 1975, when the Vietnam War was over, and (2) arriving at Pulau Bidong           refugee camp in Malaysia by boat from Vietnam.

Q: If you could start all over again, what one thing would you change?
A: Not a single thing.  All the experiences, nice or difficult, are valuable experiences. I          really don’t want a different life than the one I currently have.

Q: What captivates you?
A: Embarrassing to admit,  but professional sports  (Soccer, Basketball,  and  Football)         captivate  me  the  most.  Politics  captivates  me  the least because of my distrust of         politicians and things I read in the news.

Q:Do you teach? What subject do you teach?
A: I do not teach physics.  I taught Sea Kayaking for 6 years in Berkeley (on weekends       while doing physics research during the week) and loved it.

Q: In  2016,  you were elected as  2016  Class of American Geophysical Union (AGU)         Fellows. Tell us about AGU and what did this special honor mean to you?
A: AGU stands for American Geophysical  Union.  It is  an  international organization         with 60000 active members of Geologists, Oceanographer, Atmospheric Physicists,         and Space Physicists.  Every year,  AGU  elects  60 fellows  (0.1% of membership)         from  nominations.  I was lucky that some of my  influential colleagues  decided  to         nominate me and they must have written strong supporting letters to make the case.         With awards like these, there always people more deserving than you, so in general         I do not like awards.  With that said,  it  is nice to know that your work is valued by         others.

Interviewer: Laura Tran

Write to Tai Phan, please enter HERE.