tmt.org and How We Came
To Be
By Gary Sanders
TMT Project Manager
March 2005
You cannot do anything these days without a Web presence. And
if you are developing the world’s largest telescope, there will
be broad public interest. So you need a good Web presence.
If you were developing the latest tweak on a minor “thing-a-ma-jig,”
you could have a Web site that works for your team and the tiny
outside audience, and you could call it:
www.thelatesttweakonaminorthingamajig.org
and that would do the job. Awkward, but everyone in the tiny
audience would eagerly bookmark the cumbersome link.
But if you are Thirty Meter Telescope and you will gather more
light from the sky than anything ever before by a factor of
9 and your mirror is as tall as a ten-story building, and oh
so very perfect… you need a catchier moniker. You need a “brand.”
Everything these days needs a brand.
So what about TMT?
Off to the Web for a quick look on the WHOIS service for our
most direct fit: is tmt.org available? (As we are non-profit
corporation, the .org domain is our natural home).
Darn! Some guy owns it. What shall we do?
As I ponder this dilemma in Pasadena, 500 miles away and unbeknownst
to me, our inimitable Project Scientist, Jerry Nelson, key developer
of the segmented mirror technique that makes TMT possible and
visionary of its science potential, is investing his valuable
energy worrying about the same thing. Hey, I’m the manager.
I’m supposed to worry about this stuff, the practical stuff.
Jerry is supposed to be floating around on the high minded “Island
of Laputa,” with one eye looking up and one eye looking inward,
pondering the most esoteric questions at the heart of TMT.
But no. Jerry, in his single-minded TMT focus, is also reading
the name of the mystery owner of the domain tmt.org. It stares
at him on the screen. What to do?
But fortunately, the ICAANS or INTERNIC or whatever august
body that sets the rules for domain ownership, has decreed that
the owner must absolutely post an active email address. “A-hah!”
thinks Jerry.
So, off he goes…
From: Jerry Nelson Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 1:31
PM To: Laurence Howard Subject: name of tmt.org
Dear Laurence,
I am interested in acquiring the address tmt.org for the
Thirty Meter Telescope project, a collaborative project involving
University of California, Caltech, AURA (the US national optical
observatory), and ACURA (the Canadian equivalent), whose goal
is to build and operate a 30-m diameter ground based optical
telescope.
I see that you currently own this name. Are you using it?
Would you care to donate it to a great astronomical project?
Is it for sale?
Aloha, Jerry Nelson
“Would you care to donate it to a great astronomical project?”
How forward! Where does he get off with that kind of audacity?
He’ll probably alienate this shrewd businessman.
Of course, I didn’t really think those thoughts, because I
was not aware of what Jerry was writing. But if I had known,
I would have thought it. And I would have been wrong.
Back comes…
From: Laurence Howard To: Jerry Nelson Subject: RE: name
of tmt.org Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2005 19:46:35
Dear Jerry, For the project you describe, I shall be honored
to donate my domain. This will give me certain bragging rights
with my colleagues at the Ca. Academy of Sciences.
…
My first choice of study was astrophysics, but conditions
prevailed and I landed up an economist and novelist. I hope
you guys discover wondrous things and look forward to reading
your progress in “Science”.
Yours, Laurence Howard
Paydirt! Here we are contemplating our public web presence
because we know that the public cares about science and astronomy.
And Jerry on his first cast gets a hit. Yes the public likes
astronomy, and the mystery owner of tmt.org is just such an
enthusiast.
I’m sitting here with Laurence Howard’s book, The Identity
of Diaconis Eprom. Inside the back cover, the book reports:
“Laurence Howard lives in San Francisco and designs software
applications to support his writing habit. He has worked as
a strategic planner, economics professor, high school math teacher,
carpenter, and principal in his own consulting firm. He holds
an Ed.D. in philosophy and sings bass in a jazz quartet. Currently
he is completing a book on the evolution of human technology.
The Identity of Diaconis Eprom is his third published novel.”
Above this text, a photo of Laurence Howard shows his smiling
face while holding a long stemmed champagne glass. About my
age (don’t ask), he is a guy who has done a few things, and
seems to be enjoying himself. And he must admire and enjoy astronomy.
Thank you Dr. Howard!
His book is pretty good. |
