Thoughts from Oxford University

By Adam Hincks, S.J.

In her spacious and quiet streets men walked and spoke as they had done in Newman's day; her autumnal mists, her grey springtime, and the rare glory of her summer days – such as that day when the chestnut was in flower and the bells rang out high and clear over her gables and cupolas, exhaled the soft vapours of a thousand years of learning. – Evelyn Waugh (on Oxford)

Last week I had the good fortune of visiting Oxford University to attend a meeting of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) collaboration. Though I had passed through the city once as a child, I retained no memories. And so, upon returning, I manfully pushed aside any romantic images of this venerable institution that centuries of literature and hearsay inevitably inspire. After all, here in the twenty-first century it would have motor buses, shops and, surely, at least a few hideous buildings dating from the nineteen sixties. Perhaps, I thought, there would be traces lingering of the Oxford of a hundred years ago, but I was here for a meeting.

Shovelling for Science

By Adam Hincks, S.J.

The nobility of labour,—the long pedigree of toil. – Longfellow

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope, in the Andes of northern Chile. Photo: Adam Hincks

For the past two weeks I have been working at the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) in the desertic Andes of northern Chile. The visit comes as part of my new post: a research position in astrophysics at the University of British Columbia (UBC). This is my original area of study, and I was asked by superior to spend the two years between my philosophy studies, which I finished in June, and my future theology studies (a period called “regency”) getting some more experience as a research scientist. I was fortunate to find this position at UBC. It allows me to live in our Jesuit community in Vancouver and to be involved in astrophysics research at a first-rate secular institution.

I came down to work on ACT here in Chile several times as a doctoral student from 2007–09, so the terrain is mostly familiar. We stay in the village of San Pedro de Atacama, which happens to be a very popular tourist destination due to the abundant natural beauty in the region and its proximity to both Bolivia and Argentina. The number of hotels, restaurants and tourists has increased notably since I was last here four years ago, but it has retained much of its rustic charm. The church in town where I attend mass is a simple adobe structure dating from 1641—the period back when Brébeuf and his brethren were active in Huronia.