6
time for an undergraduate. How I got the ‘job’ is a curious story in itself. I
went to see Dr Plaza, Director of the Institute, and explained to him my wish
to do research. He listened to me, asked me questions, and finally told me that
I could begin by reporting to him on the following Sunday morning at eight
o’clock in the morning. I arrived to be met by him and another researcher,
equipped with picks, shovels, and wicker baskets, who turned out to be the
head of the Photometry and Colorimetry Laboratory. They explained that it
was necessary to demolish a large Ulbricht sphere in order to expand the laboratory, and that the job fell to us owing to shortage of funds, so would I mind
lending a hand? It took us five Sunday mornings to complete the task. So
when I am asked what my first job in research was, I always say that it involved
picks and shovels.
I graduated in Physical Sciences in June, 1960. In September of that year I
was managing three precarious jobs: assistant lecturer in the Optics Department
of the Complutense University (600 pesetas a month—3.60 euros); supply
teacher at the Ramiro de Maeztu Institute (on call in the common room to
give any absentee lecturer’s class, be it in physics, chemistry, mathematics, or
natural sciences); and ‘research student’ at CSIC’s Optics Institute (unpaid). I
had a fiancée in Cáceres whom I was unable to marry—not through any lack
of ardour on my part (we had been close for many years and I loved her
dearly)—but because not even with all these jobs could I maintain a family.
As a recent graduate it was the only way to give my career the boost it needed.
In the autumn of that same year I was summoned to a meeting by no less
an authority than Professor Navarro, Chancellor of the University of La
Laguna, and Professor Torroja. They were thinking of offering me a post in
the Canary Islands. It is not hard to imagine the trepidation and nervousness
with which I, a recent graduate in Physical Sciences, felt at the thought of
being interviewed by two such august beings.
I recall perfectly the room in the CSIC Students’ Residence in Madrid
where they awaited me. They began by telling me that an astronomical observatory with future possibilities had been set up near Mount Teide under the
supervision of the Chancellery of the University of La Laguna. They ended by
offering me a contract to carry out ‘astronomical prospection’ for the site.
When I pointed out to them that the term ‘astronomical prospection’ was
completely new to me, they encouraged me by saying that, with my experience in optics and photometry, together with what they knew about me, they
had no doubt that I would learn quickly and could indeed carry out such a
prospection. They proposed that I spend two years near the Teide, at a site
2400 metres above sea level, taking measurements to determine whether the
summits of Tenerife met the criteria for setting up an astronomical
F. Sánchez
time for an undergraduate. How I got the ‘job’ is a curious story in itself. I
went to see Dr Plaza, Director of the Institute, and explained to him my wish
to do research. He listened to me, asked me questions, and finally told me that
I could begin by reporting to him on the following Sunday morning at eight
o’clock in the morning. I arrived to be met by him and another researcher,
equipped with picks, shovels, and wicker baskets, who turned out to be the
head of the Photometry and Colorimetry Laboratory. They explained that it
was necessary to demolish a large Ulbricht sphere in order to expand the laboratory, and that the job fell to us owing to shortage of funds, so would I mind
lending a hand? It took us five Sunday mornings to complete the task. So
when I am asked what my first job in research was, I always say that it involved
picks and shovels.
I graduated in Physical Sciences in June, 1960. In September of that year I
was managing three precarious jobs: assistant lecturer in the Optics Department
of the Complutense University (600 pesetas a month—3.60 euros); supply
teacher at the Ramiro de Maeztu Institute (on call in the common room to
give any absentee lecturer’s class, be it in physics, chemistry, mathematics, or
natural sciences); and ‘research student’ at CSIC’s Optics Institute (unpaid). I
had a fiancée in Cáceres whom I was unable to marry—not through any lack
of ardour on my part (we had been close for many years and I loved her
dearly)—but because not even with all these jobs could I maintain a family.
As a recent graduate it was the only way to give my career the boost it needed.
In the autumn of that same year I was summoned to a meeting by no less
an authority than Professor Navarro, Chancellor of the University of La
Laguna, and Professor Torroja. They were thinking of offering me a post in
the Canary Islands. It is not hard to imagine the trepidation and nervousness
with which I, a recent graduate in Physical Sciences, felt at the thought of
being interviewed by two such august beings.
I recall perfectly the room in the CSIC Students’ Residence in Madrid
where they awaited me. They began by telling me that an astronomical observatory with future possibilities had been set up near Mount Teide under the
supervision of the Chancellery of the University of La Laguna. They ended by
offering me a contract to carry out ‘astronomical prospection’ for the site.
When I pointed out to them that the term ‘astronomical prospection’ was
completely new to me, they encouraged me by saying that, with my experience in optics and photometry, together with what they knew about me, they
had no doubt that I would learn quickly and could indeed carry out such a
prospection. They proposed that I spend two years near the Teide, at a site
2400 metres above sea level, taking measurements to determine whether the
summits of Tenerife met the criteria for setting up an astronomical
F. Sánchez