New Purpose

Today we depart Caltech's Henry M. Robinson Laboratory of Astrophysics, just as the astrophysicists themselves are in the process of doing. A new group of scientists will soon be moving in.

Pictured here is another of the building's fanciful light fixtures. This one, in the vestibule, is made to represent an armillary sphere. It follows the fashion of the library's fixtures, with signs of the Zodiac whirling around an inner sun.

Upon renovation, the building will become the Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for Global Environmental Science. Their website says the Center was founded "to address the complex issue of global climate change from a wide range of disciplines." To do so, they will draw upon the Caltech faculty.

Yesterday's great minds housed themselves in the Robinson Lab while applying their excellent brains to the science of astrophysics. I think it's appropriate to repurpose this building (it will of course be LEED certified) for use by Caltech's current and future great minds while applying their excellent brains to the environmental problems we face. Who better to tackle this monumental, planet-wide dilemma than Caltech, where science reigns over ideology?

It is befitting that the "sun" inside this armillary sphere is a CFL bulb.

Under the Engelmann Oak

I want to thank my friend Barbara who works at Caltech. She doesn't want me to use her last name, but I'd still like to embarrass her a little. She offered a tour of the Caltech campus for the sake of Pasadena Daily Photo, and I took her up on it one day last week. It turned out to be more than just a campus tour. It was an afternoon full of fascinating history and stories. Barbara's a fountain of information about the California Institute of Technology, and she has continued to answer my questions in emails throughout the week.

This item, though, is a bit of a mystery even to Barbara. Perhaps it's a birdbath, though there was no water in it the day we visited. Barbara said no one was quite sure where it came from (Europe?) - or when (we can narrow it down to the first half of the 20th century, surely pre-WWII). Maybe you know and can shed some light.

Update, 3/19/09: please see the comments for further discussion of the birdbath and its origins.

The birdbath stands beneath a rare Engelmann Oak in the courtyard of Caltech's Henry M. Robinson Laboratory of Astrophysics. The building's occupants are in the process of packing up and moving across California Blvd. to the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics.

If I had to make that move my heart would break, and not because the Cahill is controversial. The Robinson Laboratory of Astrophysics is a special place. I'll attempt to demonstrate why in this week's posts.