She Discovered the Pulsar, But the Nobel Went to Her Supervisor | Google Zeitgeist 2019

Jocelyn Bell Burnell talks through her professional history, from overcoming imposter syndrome as a graduate student in Cambridge to discovering pulsars, getting passed over for a Nobel Prize, inspiring Joy Division to make one of the most iconic album covers of all time, and doing her best to lift up women and people of color interested in graduate work in astronomy.
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Jocelyn Bell Burnell inadvertently discovered pulsars as a graduate student in radio astronomy in Cambridge, opening up a new branch of astrophysics - work recognized by the award of a Nobel Prize to her supervisor. She has subsequently worked in many roles in many branches of astronomy, working part-time while raising a family. She is now a Visiting Professor in Oxford, and the Chancellor of the University of Dundee, Scotland. She has chaired, served on, or serviced more Research Council Boards, Committees and Panels than she wishes to remember, and has also chaired a European Community Committee. She has been President of the Royal Astronomical Society, in 2008 became the first female President of the Institute of Physics and in 2014 the first female President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. She was one of the small group of women scientists that set up the Athena SWAN scheme. She has received many honours, including a $3M Breakthrough Prize in 2018. The public appreciation and understanding of scinece have always been important to her, and she is much in demand as a speaker and broadcaster. In her spare time she gardens, listens to choral music and is active in the Quakers. She has co-edited an anthology of poetry with an astronomical theme - Dark Matter: Poems of Space.
Jedidah Isler is an Astrophysicist and Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Dartmouth College. An advocate for diversity in STEM, she was Yale University's first African-American woman to earn a PhD in Astrophysics. In 2015, Isler founded Vanguard: Conversations with Women of Color in STEM. She gave an inspiring TED talk on the urgent need for diversity in STEM and science.

[@ellyess7203]

It continues in a lesser field. I had my data stolen, my PhD proposal stolen, and was bullied by the Head of Department. That was in the 1990s.

[@studywithyan697]

could you tell us more about your story?

[@jenniferlorence1950]

And I See these two Beautiful, intelligent women, Speaking a very interesting and intelligent topic.

[@Lunar_lunaa]

She’s one of my favorite science speakers. Such an inspiration and inspiration of change.

[@WorldScott]

At 18:59 her story brought tears to my eyes. Such a magnanimous act particularly given that she could have been bitter at history's treatment of her story of her discovery and her contirubutions to physics and science. Could the Nobel organization of today right a wrong and recognize what astrophysicist Bell Burnell did and thereby help overcome the tragic recurring history of the Matilda effect?

[@frankyflowers]

she didn't really discover them. she was like a computer before computers were available and saw the data first. thats it.

[@WorldScott]

@@frankyflowers Jocelyn Bell Burnell not only discovered Pulsars but confirmed her discovery by finding a second pulsar. Folks discounting her discovery are bordering on idiocy.

[@frankyflowers]

@@WorldScott she was the person that noticed the anomaly. she didn't figure out what it was and anyone doing that job would have noticed it and reported the anomalies. all that bs about having to fight to get the bad men to look at her data is lies.

[@MarkRaymondLuce]

@@frankyflowers "After construction on the telescope was completed, Hewish assigned Bell Burnell to retrieve and analyze the information it collected. Just before lunch one day in the summer of 1967, the young physicist noticed an “unclassifiable squiggle” on one of her data sheets. It was the kind of detail that others might have disregarded or overlooked; indeed, Hewish initially insisted it was merely interference. But Bell Burnell's fear of flunking made her meticulous, and a lifetime of feeling like an outsider had opened her mind. She remained focused on the squiggle until she could figure it out." The only bs are your apparent misogynistic comments!

[@MarkRaymondLuce]

​@@WorldScott Yes, and she actually discovered a bunch, but it was her persistent meticulous examination of the data that led to the confirmation of a 2nd “unclassifiable squiggle” on the hard copies of the data read-out sheets - this was before computers, and it meant literally lining up the hard-copy sheets of data that coincided with the exact portion of the universal sky she was looking at where these “unclassifiable squiggles” with repeated pulses beating a steady rhythm like a cosmic lighthouse were located, these “unclassifiable squiggles” were what was eventually named pulsars - pulsating radio source - until the confirmation of the 2nd “unclassifiable squiggle”, she and her advisor Antony Hewish thought these cosmic lighthouse signals could be intentional radio transmissions of an intelligent advanced civilization which they "jokingly" referred to as “LGM-1" or “Little Green Man.”

[@kristine6996]

Touching interview ladies. Heartwarming. ☀️🫀☀️

[@AtulLonkar]

Wow ! Thx for bringing out this immense story

[@user-es4rj3ws8l]

Wonderful discussion, fantastic women on a fascinating topic.

[@jenniferlorence1950]

Agreed.

[@gianguidofucito9580]

Even scientists are frauding their students. Mrs Bell suffered and has been rob from from the Nobel Price by her superviser. This happens to various if not many students, it also happened to me, after 2 years of work to prepare PhD had to start again with another projet to continue as somebody else took over my previous work. A terrible and a sad moment of for my interests and studies. Is that life?

[@PreetiSrivastavaPhoenixBird]

No words for your loss

[@alexanderemese6083]

This story reveals the inner structure of human society. The boss of a company maintains an army of slaves and subordinates, who work, reward and Fame and honor gets the boss.

[@jenniferlorence1950]

That is what they say about the children of Single Mothers, men and some women Say that children of Single Mothers will be delinquents, and We had a USA President who was raised by a Single mother. !~~~

[@jackilynortiz9347]

Give her the Nobel prize!

[@ellyess7203]

I think this lady is amazing. Why have we not heard more about her? She is a great Speaker too.

[@isara26]

Why she didn't challenge the Nobel committee??

[@lindat.2483]

Incredible woman though🙌🙌🙌🤩🤩🤩

[@jenniferlorence1950]

Agreed. She just inspired me to go on, to Not give up on my hope for a better life.

[@Ernesto1317]

Hello

[@747maran]

what happened to the camera men, fell asleep..?

[@Trypyyyy]

I don't understand why they haven't given her a Nobel prize yet? There should be some form of reparation made to this brilliant woman.

[@amarnathjha8319]

She should have been also the co-recipient. It was injustice done to her.

[@MarkRaymondLuce]

I agree! This was after-all one of the most important ground-breaking discoveries in 20th century astronomy.

[@TTykwer]

Antony Hewish was foolish in thinking that the truth of Jocelyn Bell would not surface and prevail.

[@bondjames7007]

I enjoyed interview but….Americans speak so loudly & over the top people….people from other countries just don’t get the loud Americans !!! If an American is speaking …I always have to turn the volume down on my iPad. They can’t/don’t modulate their voices……

[@gerrymcerlean8432]

Jocelyn should stop crying about being a woman and get on with her Science. I agree that she was unfairly treated regarding the Nobel Prize but there was a certain amount of luck involved in her being in the right place at the right time. Her supervisor was the driving force behind her discovery but she was bright enough and diligent enough to make the important discovery. Don't get me wrong. I greatly admire Jocelyn. I just wish she would stop moaning.

[@boobio1]

The irony is if they hadn't been discriminatory against women, they probably wouldn't have had her doing the grunt work of analyzing the data for her to make her "observation" in the first place. Her professor's analogy of someone happening to be at the masthead and yelling "land ho!" is pretty accurate. In her own words, she stated "I believe it would demean Nobel Prizes if they were awarded to research students", so she hardly disagrees. I just can't imagine literally inventing the radio telescope technology, managing the entire project, spending years building and funding the things for the purpose of discovery, and then having people accuse you of a misogynistic conspiracy because you got credit. After all, what was her stroke of genius? Having the common sense to notate an irregularity? She didn't even know what it was. Dismissing the massive contributions from her superiors and turning the attention to her sense of entitlement just seems kind of petty. She was rightfully put 2nd right on the published paper and that's honestly what anyone, man or woman, deserved. There's nothing to complain about, unless of course you fantasize that everyone's out to oppress you.

[@NA-nf2vt]

Her role in "discovering" pulsars is grossly exaggerated. She didn't hypothesize their existence nor did she figure out what they were when she "observed" them in the radio telescope data. I don't say that to dismiss her, but to refute the idea that she was somehow unfairly snubbed of the Nobel prize. How people can act like she deserves all the credit is bizarre. The guy invented the telescope. Can you imagine how much of a genius you have to be to invent a new research apparatus designed specifically to harvest data from space, for the sole intention of learning and discovering new things? Not to mention the massive effort of organizing the research project and managing the whole thing. THAT is a stroke of genius. Not being the research student screaming misogyny because you don't get the same recognition as the guy who handed you your freakin' career on a silver platter. I'd find her way more admirable if she didn't have such an inflated sense of entitlement.

[@jamieangus-whiteoak3656]

Umm no one had hypothesised their existence, she helped build the telescope, creating and testing the vital feeds from the antennae to the receivers. This is non trivial engineering work. She then worked on "quaser observation, which was what the telescope was designed to look for, and noticed these odd burst that could not be explained by terrestrial interference, but tracked sidereal time, meaning they were off planet, in much the same way Jansky hypothesized his interference was off planet at the dawn of radio astronomy. Her supervisor after being convinced it wasn't interference by her, then thought they were due to white dwarfs, it was Fred Hoyle wh suggested they might be supernova remnants aka neutron stars. This was a phenomenal piece of work both technically and academically.

[@myketoside]

No one handed her career to her "on a silver platter". She earned that through years of her own hard work and endurance.

[@warnford]

It is an interesting program. The comments: I hadnt realised still elicited such emotion . Her own description of herself " I havent had a bad career as the woman who should have got a Nobel Prize. " I got the LGM question right as I remember an article in Time on this, late sixties. I fully credit the idea that she discovered the bursts of radiation because she was ready to sit in freezing conditions looking at miles and miles of paper tape, when others wouldnt and didnt. Fred Hoyle loudly opposed the lack of an award, and they say, lost his own award. So much for the idea that you will get a Nobel if you deserve one

[@samyaklove7643]

@@jamieangus-whiteoak3656 telescope was invented by galileo galeli, she just joint the parts together, what are you smoking, loser?

[@caraxes_noodleboi]

@@samyaklove7643 you are proof that too many idiots have access to the internet nowadays.

[@TiantongQ]

It’s only a pulsar, no one cares

[@priceless2353]

???????

[@gauravdubey6989]

Exactly

[@bbmblais]

Me too, i don't care. How's them apples lol

[@dego1394]

Porks neither care about pulsars, for sure.

[@jenniferlorence1950]

Not yet, but just Wait, it will matter. .