Brian May, Rock Legend, Soon-To-Be Astrophysicist

xPsi writes "Brian May, the guitarist for the legendary rock band Queen (age 60), has finally decided to submit his Ph.D. thesis in astrophysics. The title is 'Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud.' From the article: 'May was studying astrophysics at Imperial College when he formed Queen with singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor in 1970. He dropped his doctorate research into interstellar dust as the band met with increasing success.' And, hey, if this whole Rock-n-Roll thing doesn't pan out, at least he'll have something to fall back on."

Comments

At last!

[Anonymous Coward]

He may get to meet some chicks!

Re:At last!

[palantir]

He used to be a babe magnet. Now he'll probably never get Phucked again.

Re:At last!

[arivanov]

Secondary goal most likely.

He gets to see one of the most beautiful islands on Earth with one of the best wines on the planet while it is still there. It is on the island which will one day slide into the ocean to cause a giant tsunami that will wipe out everything around the Atlantic: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/mega_tsu nami.shtml.

It is a place which is worth to see while it is still there. Spanish are right calling it La Isla Bonita. It is so - the beautiful island. Most french wine is horsepiss compared to a good year of La Palma Tinto Negramol, or the high altitude grown albillo from the northern slopes, or the local malvasia which is probably the best in the world, or ... The nature there is totally stunning. Fantastic looking mountains though climbing on them is outright suicide, they are rock is fragile. Fantastic place for paragliding, trekking, diving, fishing and practically devoid of the usual tourist infestation. It is insanely quiet. The only form of nightlife are cafes and restaurants with good food and drink. No nightclub infestation either.

Only problem is if you can stomach landing at the STC airport. It is like landing on an damaged aircraft carrier moored in a port next to a skyscraper. The runway is just long enough for an A320 to land with reverse thrust working at full blast. If it does not you go straight into the sea of the edge of a 200m high cliff. Nose down. It it is also slanted at 4-5 degrees and goes straight into the sea on 3 sides. Mountains on the third. And the final decision point on one of the sides is before you align up for landing.

Re:At last!

[Chapter80]

His ultimate goal, though, is to get his buddy Elton to be a Rocket Man, and get David Bowie up into his tin can, high above the world.

Re:At last!

[theodicey]

Unfortunately, he'll need a Nobel Prize for that.

"Now that I have the prize, I can finally meet some chicks" -- James Watson, 1962

Re:At last!

[Master of Transhuman]

He did a song with Andrea Corr at the South Africa 46664 AIDS benefit (YouTube video)and played backup music with Sharon Corr and Zucchero at the Arctic 46664 AIDS benefit (YouTube video).

So he had an opportunity with all three Corrs sisters!

Re:At last!

[Mallory Weiss]

Hardly. Brian used to have an inferiority complex of truly astronomical proportions about his appearance... as for meeting chicks... thanks to his total lack of any dating skills, one of the best Queen songs was written - White Queen (well, technically, it was written before Queen was formed, but it appears on band's 2nd album, cause Smile never recorded it...) http://youtube.com/watch?v=hyQZ1QOtJA8

Re:At last!

[Mallory Weiss]

Curiously enough, the type of chicks he seems to attract are the ones with IQ quite above average... Like Missy, a pretty blond nurse from NY. She writes, and her talent is unmistakable:

"But all of this I saw without seeing, my mind fixed on a distant, heady star. I carried Brian's face like a banner in my mind : Brian smiling his kind, fateful little smile. That smile had bound and bent me; I was a fish caught on its hook, caught in its net. Ovid wrote that love was strong as death and harder than hell, and this love held me in chains.

I wondered : was my imagination false? Had I merely created a thing to love? Then I looked across at Brian, with his firm, kind mouth and those unforgettable eyes that could see things of this world and the next. I had neither imagined or dreamed this rapture; it redoubled in timeless force. I stood looking at him as if to draw him into my heart by the looking. I belonged only to him. " (quoted directly from: http://forums.queenonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=2158 8&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=870)

Sadly and unfortunately, he has no idea about such sincere and boundless devotion.

Studies

[BWJones]

Rock on... \m/ \m/

It is never too late for scholarly accomplishment and is encouraging to see folks go back to finish work begun many years prior or even to begin studies later than would be traditionally done. I'd like to think that if I can achieve a certain financial independence that I'd complete a second Ph.D. later in life in a field completely unrelated to the one I am working in now. Perhaps something cool like history...

On top of that, perhaps Dr. May's degree will help focus a little positive attention on science given that many in politics these days seem to have made us scientists out to be the boogey man/woman.

Re:Studies

[largesnike]

\m/ \m/ is that the rear view of two swimmers about to dive into a pool?

Re:Studies

[BWJones]

You must be an American.

Well, that is one of the most ignorant things I've heard today... Am I misunderstanding the sentiment or just what is it that you are trying to say?

I've never seen why people feel they need a "second" PhD.

It is not about the piece of paper that says PhD. Rather, it is the level of accomplishment that the doctorate represents.

So in fact what you really want to do is read for a BA (or BSc) in a new area - just do it at a good university (which unfortunately rules out most).

Actually, well run doctorate programs provide not just the place for students to learn at, but other individuals/colleagues/mentors in that field of study who can challenge you and help direct your studies far beyond what is available to most undergraduate departments. The academic rigor of doctoral programs far surpasses the more casual familiarity with material and the expectations are much higher as well which is what many folks who love learning are after, particularly if the field of their interest is far away from their area of formal training.

Re:Studies

[deftcoder]

I realize that you were being humorous, but it's worth mentioning regardless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corna#Rock_and_Heavy_ Metal_Music

Re:Studies

[largesnike]

ah, of course, thankyou.

Re:Studies

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm afraid I have to concur with the other poster. As someone with a doctorate myself, I really don't see why you would need a second PhD. There is really no need to attempt a new PhD - your previous one should allow you to move straight into other fields and start producing immediately.

If the field is very different, you can always do a DipGrad or equivalent (something to bring you up to speed). Really, at the point of holding a PhD, you should be capable of taking a year or two of preparation at most, and then working at a postdoctoral level.

(And I somewhat agree with the "you must be American" jibe of the other poster's as well ;) The only place I see mention of multiple PhD holders is in American fiction such as television and Hollywood movies. I'm sure some people go for it. But it seems more of an exercise in intellectual wankery than a proper application of one's abilities.)

Re:Studies

[norton_I]

I think what he is saying, which you have either missed or ignored completely is that once you have a PhD you should be a (possibly junior) partner, not a student with a mentor. A PhD is a research degree, and the purpose is to train you to learn things that nobody knows. Once reach that level, the field matters less--as long as you have solid knowledge of the fundamentals (i.e., at a bachelors or masters level). Hence the car analogy.

Re:Studies

[PopeRatzo]

You mean because I have a PhD in English I can qualify to work as a postdoc physicist in only 2 years?

Look out, Stephen Hawking! I got my god particle hanging right here.

Re:Studies

[pipingguy]

Blah-blah. Just listen to "Fat Bottomed Girls"!

Re:Studies

[EveLibertine]

Well, it's settled. You're an American.

Re:Studies

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a PhD in English

You can't be American, as no yank should get anything in English until they can spell centre correctly

Re:Studies

[moosesocks]

On top of that, perhaps Dr. May's degree will help focus a little positive attention on science given that many in politics these days seem to have made us scientists out to be the boogey man/woman.

Right. Because the conservative right wing would be extremely compassionate toward the endeavors of the ">members of a band like Queen due to their rock star status.

Oh, wait....

Re:Studies

[moosesocks]

Gah markup.

Fixed link to Freddie Mercury's Wikipedia article.

Re:Studies

[billgates]

Yep. He's American.

Re:Studies

[tatheg]

I'm not sure I understand your comments on his getting a second Phd. In TFA it is said that he received an Honorary Phd. Also, it did not mention what the degree was for ... Perhaps music? Though, I am not a University Dean, I would think that the Honorary degree is worth about as much as the paper it is printed on.

Re:Studies

[Anonymous Coward]

You must be an American.

Well, that is one of the most ignorant things I've heard today... Am I misunderstanding the sentiment or just what is it that you are trying to say?

I assumed he was trying to say "Few people outside America seem to pursue multiple PhDs".

That doesn't seem a particularly racist observation to me - at least no more so than saying "Most American BSc courses are four years long".

Re:Studies

[oohshiny]

You mean because I have a PhD in English I can qualify to work as a postdoc physicist in only 2 years?

No. Ph.D.'s are about how to do research. Many fields share research methodology, some don't. So, if you have an English Ph.D., then a Physics Ph.D. may teach you something, but a French Ph.D. might not be.

Re:Studies

[sayfawa]

I'm sorry, but that's just wrong. Maybe it was like that in times past, but not today. Even in the UK a PhD does include learning about specific things. Not only would my group never hire someone without a PhD specifically in physics (possibly physical chemistry), they wouldn't hire someone without experience specifically in laser cooling (which you won't get in any undergrad program). A person with a bachelor's degree in physics and a PhD in social work would be completely useless to us.

Re:Studies

[sco08y]

You must be an American. I've never seen why people feel they need a "second" PhD.

I've never seen the conspicuous consumption stereotype applied to higher learning. And, yes, I got naturalized Nov 2005.

Re:Studies

[homey of my owney]

You all say that as though it's a pejorative. And don't get me wrong I like being reduced to a social stereotype... but why not just weigh in with your assessment of the article instead of your insulting assessment of a group you seem to little about.

Re:Studies

[Provocateur]

You must be an American

Damn, that's a requirement for a second PhD?!

Oh wait...

Re:Studies

[that this is not und]

You're wrong. In a historical context you are right, that it's about thinking and knowing how to do research. But in a modern context, anything at a University is about campus politics, and collecting the right tokens along the way to a little square of wallpaper. If you go for post-graduate studies, it's because you've learned far too much about far too little to cope in the world, so you seek funding to stay on campus for a longer period of time. Some people even manage to stay on campus their entire life.

Re:Studies

[ml10422]

After working with software engineers of all different education levels, I don't see why anybody feels the need to get a first PhD. There's zero correlation between college education level and competency.

Re:Studies

[oohshiny]

If you go for post-graduate studies, it's because you've learned far too much about far too little to cope in the world, so you seek funding to stay on campus for a longer period of time. Some people even manage to stay on campus their entire life.

How is that different from becoming a lawyer, a politician, a priest, a race car driver, computer programmer, or a hamburger flipper? Everybody specializes, and everybody has specific sources of funding and income.

Now, why don't you tell us what makes your life and your job more meaningful and important than an academic job?

Re:Studies

[themadplasterer]

The one on the left is mine! ; she was checking me out earlier

Re:Studies

[dr_dank]

It's still messed up. Instead, I see a little silhouetto of a man.

Re:Studies

[Tacvek]

I'm sorry, but that's just wrong. Maybe it was like that in times past, but not today. Even in the UK a PhD does include learning about specific things. Not only would my group never hire someone without a PhD specifically in physics (possibly physical chemistry), they wouldn't hire someone without experience specifically in laser cooling (which you won't get in any undergrad program). A person with a bachelor's degree in physics and a PhD in social work would be completely useless to us.

A PhD in a hard discipline (Engineering, a science, etc.) is a PhD. (I'm not sure about the PhD's in other fields. They may be more laxed, but they really should not be).

If your group would not accept somebody whose PhD was not in Physics, that is a failure of your group. Requiring that the person have taken the classes required for a PhD in physics is one thing. But somebody who has a PhD in let's say Mathematics, who has taken those courses at graduate or post-grad level, and has the required laser cooling experience, should certainly be fully qualified to work in your group. The key here is that perhaps the person did not do a doctoral thesis in your field. If they know the field, and are capable of performing doctoral thesis level of work, they for all intents and purposes are a Doctor of Physics.

(The use of "they" as a singular gender-nutral pronoun is fully intentional).

Re:Studies

[that this is not und]

Most of us live our lives in the real world. We don't exist to extract funding from grant-giving bodies. And other than an occasional comment like this, we don't consider ourselves 'more meaningful and important' than the intelleshulls.

And believe me, they're an insular crowd who DO feel they are more meaningful and important.

Re:Studies

[PopeRatzo]

If you go for post-graduate studies, it's because you've learned far too much about far too little to cope in the world, so you seek funding to stay on campus for a longer period of time. Some people even manage to stay on campus their entire life.

You've described me to a "T".

Loving it, by the way.

Re:Studies

[sayfawa]

If they have a PhD in something other than physics, and they have the appropriate experience, then yes, they would get hired by my group. My point is that, today, that required experience comes with the physics PhD. The PhD is not something where you just improve your research techniques. There are important things that you learn during your PhD that do not get taught in undergrad and don't get taught in the grad studies of other fields.

So yes, I agree technically that it's not what one's PhD is in that's important, it's what one knows. But the fact is, no one without a PhD in physics (or physical chemistry) would have the experience that our group would require, especially when compared to other job candidates who did do their PhD in physics. My group not hiring someone without a physics PhD is not a failing on the part of my group, it's just a practical realization of that fact.

Re:Studies

[Anonymous Coward]

You can't be American, as no yank should get anything in English until they can spell centre correctly

Since you are so smart, perhaps you can tell me why the Brits can't spell "NASA" correctly.

Re:Studies

[oohshiny]

Most of us live our lives in the real world. We don't exist to extract funding from grant-giving bodies.

And the problem with that would be... what? Academics have to do a shitload of work to get very limited research grants, and they use that money to pay for students and education. What the hell is supposed to be wrong with that? Academic employment is paid so poorly and so much work that fewer and fewer people are willing to do it at all.

Now, who do you extract funding from? Gullible teenagers? Desperate housewives? Little old ladies? Or does the industry you work in survive on pork and government handouts? Come on, tell us about your Dilbertesque life!

Re:Studies

[moosesocks]

Has anybody else noticed quite a bit of 'crossover' between British and American spellings ever since the advent of the Internet?

I for one find myself spelling things the British way occasionally, 'catalogue' and 'colour' being the two biggest examples.

Re:Studies

[Big Jason]

I like using the British spellings as well, in particular words ending in -re.

An intersting tidbit: Whilst searching for the American Airlines Centre in Dallas, I came across this at the bottom of the page:

Note: The correct spelling is American Airlines Center, not American Airlines Centre.

Re:Studies

[Citizen of Earth]

It is never too late for scholarly accomplishment and is encouraging to see folks go back to finish work begun many years prior

Over the 35 years, shouldn't his Ph.D. thesis have gone from ground-breaking research to undergraduate-report type stuff? Are they still going to approve his thesis? Or was his work 35 years ahead of its time?

Re:Studies

[Citizen of Earth]

they wouldn't hire someone without experience specifically in laser cooling

Dude, lasers are hot. You've been had — they sent you on a snipe hunt!

Re:Studies

[pho3nixtar]

You can't be American, as no yank should get anything in English until they can spell centre correctly. Center center center center center centER!

Re:Studies

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, he did mention that remarkably little research has been done on ZL since he binned his PhD in 1972...

Re:Studies

[Tacvek]

If they have a PhD in something other than physics, and they have the appropriate experience, then yes, they would get hired by my group. My point is that, today, that required experience comes with the physics PhD. The PhD is not something where you just improve your research techniques. There are important things that you learn during your PhD that do not get taught in undergrad and don't get taught in the grad studies of other fields.

So yes, I agree technically that it's not what one's PhD is in that's important, it's what one knows. But the fact is, no one without a PhD in physics (or physical chemistry) would have the experience that our group would require, especially when compared to other job candidates who did do their PhD in physics. My group not hiring someone without a physics PhD is not a failing on the part of my group, it's just a practical realization of that fact. To that end, taking your comments as about the availability of the specialized knowledge as true (and i have no reason to doubt it), then the failure is certainly not on your group but on the education system. It should be possible to obtain said knowledge through routes other than Physics PhD study. However, if in reality that is required, than having a physics PhD being a de facto requirement is entirely reasonable. I see no fault in your group for that. The first part of your reply definitely makes it clear that there is nothing wrong with your group.

Re:Studies

[Anonymous Coward]

heh... as an Australian programmer I absolutely hate the colour/color difference. most programming languages use the american spelling, so you dont get much choice in it there, but then in comments it always ends up colour, because thats how the damn word is spelt. damn you americans and your lack of u's and excessive use of z's

Re:Studies

[SacredByte]

What about honour, colour, and theatre?

Re:Studies

[mechapants]

You're of course right. The American way to spell centre is center.

Re:Studies

[IHateEverybody]

From the article it seems his thesis is on interstellar dust which is a pretty hot topic among astronomers right now. It's also a topic which requires use of big infrared telescopes which have come into common usage in the recent years. Personally I'm jealous, the man is on cutting edge in every field of endeavour.

Re:Studies

[Anonymous Coward]

come now, that hardly sounds fair. What physics department couldn't use someone with a PhD in social work for things like retrieving coffee.

Re:Studies

[andphi]

I'll admit those wacky Brits spell "theatre" correctly.
Everything else, however, should be re-written directly
(Excepting, of course, anything before Webster:
Milton, Marlowe, Pepys, and the Bard,
We should treat rather like legacy code -
Leave uncommented, unstandardized, ne'er updated;
Enlightenment should come only to the dedicated).

Re:Studies

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, while the word comes from French and "centre" is the French spelling, the original English spelling was "center". But leave it to England (or, specifically, Dr. Samuel Johnson) to choose the less-phonetic, more-French spelling.

http://etymonline.com/?term=center

Likewise:

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=theater

And for some reason, they prefer the French "metre" and "litre", but use an anglicized "gram" instead of "gramme". They haven't made up their mind between "programme" and "program" yet -- and it's hard to blame them, since at this point it's a choice between being more French or more American, which are no doubt equally distasteful options.

Re:Studies

[EveLibertine]

I don't know anything about being an American?
I was born in Detroit and I live in Chicago. I don't mind getting modded as flamebait, though my comment was intended to be humerous. The humor hinges on whether or not anyone in the conversation knows that I am an American, but explaining it detracts from the humor, so I didn't.

Given all that, there should be nothing that lead you to the conclusion one way or the other, so you made an assumption and ran with it. Right into a wall.

Re:Studies

[Enlightenment]

After working with software engineers of all different education levels, I don't see why anybody feels the need to get a first PhD. There's zero correlation between college education level and competency. That would be because you work with software engineers. You don't work with physicists, chemists, or in fact with people of any heavily research-oriented profession. At its heart, programming is a trade, not an academic discipline, so I suppose it makes sense for you to believe that heavy education doesn't help. Nevertheless, there's no excuse for disparaging people in other fields because you've decided the realities of your work must hold for everyone.

Recursive Stargazing?

[decipher_saint]

I had a joke, but it was too lame, even for Slashdot...

Re:Recursive Stargazing?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's unpossible.

He recently released a book as well.

[attemptedgoalie]

http://www.banguniverse.com/

How cool is it that after all of the concerts, the world tours, the money, that he completes a life project like this?

How many people that attain the level that Queen rose to, would just spend their time spending the money?

I think it's awesome that he's going to finish up.

Re:He recently released a book as well.

[xenocide2]

Plus, whenever my advisor asks when my thesis draft will be ready, I'll have a nice standard to fall back to for guidance!

Re:He recently released a book as well.

[jgrahn]

How cool is it that after all of the concerts, the world tours, the money, that he completes a life project like this? How many people that attain the level that Queen rose to, would just spend their time spending the money?

Or worse, re-form Queen with some twit replacing Freddie ...

Re:He recently released a book as well.

[hughk]

In the early days, Queen had a bit of a rep as the intellectuals of rock. I had a friend who looked after the significant others of Queen whilst they were touring Germany many years ago and she maintained occasional contact over the years. Apparently other than Freddie who was absolutely bonkers but a brilliant artist, the rest of the band were very friendly with stable families and seemed quite normal.

Re:He recently released a book as well.

[E 99]

How many people that attain the level that Queen rose to, would just spend their time spending the money?

Yeah, and how many rock stars who achieved the success of Queen still have enough money left to go to college?

Seriously, though, I think science could really benefit from someone like him. As I young guitarist I took a lot of inspiration from an article he wrote. I remember the bottom line was that the #1 rule is to disregard all the rules, and come at it fresh every time. That was pretty much the mindset of Feynman and Einstein as well.

Re:He recently released a book as well.

[tehcyder]

How many people that attain the level that Queen rose to, would just spend their time spending the money?

Yeah, you need to keep some balance by leaving free time for taking drugs and banging groupies too.

Best Quote from TFA

[Oyume]

"Earlier this month, the writer of such Queen hits as "We Will Rock You" and "Fat Bottomed Girls" was granted an honorary doctorate from Exeter University in Devon, England."

Because nothing says "academic" like singing "Fat Bottomed Girls" at the next Faculty Meeting...

He can still think!

[Alain Williams]

Nice to know that during his rock years he didn't fry his brain with acid and is still able to do the work to get a PhD.

Re:He can still think!

[Tim_UWA]

Are you kidding? How else can you get through a PhD in physics?

Re:He can still think!

[Skevin]

Yeah, apparently, this drummer knows his [interstellar] Dust...

Solomon

Re:He can still think!

[Anonymous Coward]

He's a guitarist, you idiot.

Re:He can still think!

[Anonymous Coward]

Acid is pretty much the drug least likely to fry your brain...

Anyway, the most common - and probably most destructive - drug used by musicians is...alcohol!

Re:He can still think!

[Anonymous Coward]

He never really dabbed into drugs, nor did most of the band (from what I've read...)

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_May quote -
"...May dislikes smoking, even to the point where he specifically prohibits smoking indoors at his more recent concerts."

As well as
"His avoidance of alcohol can be traced to an early concert where Queen played with the band Aerosmith, and May had a conversation with fellow guitarist Joe Perry backstage. Perry brought out a bottle of whisky, which the two drank between themselves. May felt so unpleasant during the concert that he promised himself never to have more than one drink before playing."

Re:He can still think!

[Anonymous Coward]

Acid is pretty much the drug least likely to fry your brain...

Nope. That, my friend, is an honor reserved for Heroin and associated opiates. Of all the illegal drugs, opiates have the least impact upon your body. The tradeoff for this, unfortunately, are the extreme addictiveness and withdrawal symptoms, which are essentially the worst of any substance.

The only lasting physical or mental damage that comes from using opiates are things which are not directly caused by the drug, i.e. one might neglect dental hygiene, proper nutrition, safe sex practices, etc. due to being preoccupied with obtaining more heroin.

Re:He can still think!

[jbreckman]

I think when Freddie had AIDS, and knew he was going to die, he started throwing CRAZY parties....

Like... the kind of parties where midgets walk around with trays strapped to their heads, which have lines of cocaine on them...

Re:He can still think!

[Anonymous Coward]

he only lasting physical or mental damage that comes from using opiates are things which are not directly caused by the drug

False. Sorry to spoil your romantic dreams but using heavy drugs really is a threat to your life.

Drug Overdose is a very common cause of premature death in heroin addicts, even when they're using medically prescribed heroin. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retr ieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7804091)

It's also very common for addicts to die from chronic liver disease. (22.3% of the years lost was due to heroin overdose, 14.0% due to chronic liver disease, and 10.2% to accidents. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleUR L&_udi=B6WPG-4N0XN9S-1&_user=10&_coverDate=04%2F30 %2F2007&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c& _acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid= 10&md5=1f738e8eaa57831070f58bf4a86c2ef8 )

You can google yourself for more research on this topic. It is very consistent.

Re:He can still think!

[that this is not und]

Yes. That's why the word 'zodiac' is included in the title of his astralphysics.. opps, astrophysics thesis.

Re:He can still think!

[runlevel 5]

Brian May was known for being the most reserved of the members of Queen. While Mercury and the other guys were living the rock and roll lifestyle, he rarely drank and didn't use drugs.

Re:He can still think!

[DragonWriter]

The only lasting physical or mental damage that comes from using opiates are things which are not directly caused by the drug, i.e. one might neglect dental hygiene, proper nutrition, safe sex practices, etc. due to being preoccupied with obtaining more heroin.

This is quite wrong. Prolonged use of opiates has an increasing risk of permanently seriously depressing the natural production of endorphin such that it will not recover even in the absence of the drug. This has serious consequences, and is one of the major contributors to relapse to opiate use, which is why ongoing opiate replacement therapies using drugs like methadone or buprenorphine are used.

Oh dear...

[Bazman]

I wonder if the physics department here will be expecting me to finish mine, 17 years after the funding ran out and now several years after the detector shut down... Now, maybe if they have my data on backup tapes and there's a spare Vax 11/750 going...

Re:Oh dear...

[MichaelSmith]

Now, maybe if they have my data on backup tapes and there's a spare Vax 11/750 going...

On nine track tape? Your old data is going to become a nasty head cleaning job. Have lots of isopropyl alcohol handy.

Re:Oh dear...

[Anonymous Coward]

How about those departments whose budgets have been gutted to fund new film schools to fleece the terminally dreaming?

Oh wait, no, all those hundreds of thousands of kids who have blown their trust funds on film school courses are of course guaranteed to get work in Hollywood.

Re:Oh dear...

[Bazman]

I bet the master tapes of Bohemian Rhapsody are in better condition...

Re:Oh dear...

[Provocateur]

Have lots of isopropyl alcohol handy.

Does the brand of alcohol have to be that specific/repugnant?

as the band met with increasing success...

[laejoh]

Sounds better than:

Running Gentoo on '70s technology takes a while. I'll never finish compiling Latex and Vi before the turn of the century.

OLD

[Maniac-X]

This is old news, that I heard at least two weeks ago. Way to keep up, guys.

Cool

[tsa]

Wow man, he is one cool dude. I wish I had the nerve and stamina to get another Ph.D. at that age.

Re:Cool

[hoover]

I think one of the contributing factors to be considered is that he's rather well off financially, won't have to work another single day in his life again and is basically free to do as he damn well pleases. I think in such circumstances, quite a few older people would be able to finish their studies, especially in a field that has become a life-long passion (which is rather the norm with astronomers than an exception). Kudos for Brian May for pulling this one off though, it's hard work even *with* a lot of passion involved.

Re:Cool

[Dephex Twin]

Wow man, he is one cool dude. I wish I had the nerve and stamina to get another Ph.D. at that age.

Just how old are you?

Re:Cool

[tsa]

I'm 39 years old.

Re:Cool

[Dephex Twin]

Sorry, that was just a lame attempt at a joke. The way you said it made it sound like you were much older than him-- if only you were his age again and had that same drive. Ah well, sometimes a joke just plain bombs.

Re:Cool

[tsa]

Ah. O well. Better luck next time.

If he studied brain

[www.sorehands.com]

If he studied brain surgery, he could get a job at The Banzai Institute. I think that they dropped the Rcket Car license requirement last year.

Nothing really matters, Anyone can see ...

[Average_Joe_Sixpack]

Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me

Any way the stellar wind blows ...

Re:Nothing really matters, Anyone can see ...

[Dogtanian]

Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me

Any way the stellar wind blows ... Sorry to ruin the joke, but Freddie Mercury wrote that one. OTOH, May did write the aforementioned.... Fat Bottomed Girls. Okay, maybe not such a good joke in there ;-)

Re:Nothing really matters, Anyone can see ...

[linhux]

May's songs had a huge influence on me during my teenage years. Well, most Queen songs had, but many of Mays songs stands in particular; he wrote the first songs on the Queen II album which I spent countless hours listening to. Teo Torriate (Let Us Cling Together) from A Day At The Races was one of my favourite songs ever for many years. I went to see him live in Stockholm during the 1998 Another World solo tour, which was a really great experience.

Re:Nothing really matters, Anyone can see ...

[Dogtanian]

True, Queen II was an excellent album, and I know that half of it was basically his. (Wish they'd left off Taylor's "Loser in the End" off that side. It wasn't that great, and it really didn't fit with the rest of the album).

I wasn't implying that he hadn't done anything of note, just nothing that I could think to make a joke out of :-)

That having been said, all his musical work nowadays seems to be related to mining the Queen legacy. That might sound a bit more mean-spirited than I meant it to be, but it seems that he's just reworking the past now.

Buckaroo Banzai

[Rick17JJ]

It sounds like he is a real life Buckaroo Banzai, like in the 1984 movie "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension." Buckaroo Banazi was a rock star, particle physicist, neurosurgeon, and race car driver. So, it really is possible to do all that! That was the movie where Earth was invaded by aliens flew around in space ships which looked like giant sea shells.

Buckaroo Banzai

Re:Buckaroo Banzai

[Gordonjcp]

Rock Star, Astronomer, don't know what we can do about neurosurgeon (maybe a paramedic? St Johns?). For the racing driver one though, I want *everyone* to mail into the BBC's Top Gear requesting Brian May as one of the Stars in a Reasonably Priced Car.

Re:Buckaroo Banzai

[Anonymous Coward]

It sounds like he is a real life Buckaroo Banzai, like in the 1984 movie

Christ, you must be new here. THis crowd already knew what you were talking about after the first 10 words. What next? 10 pages of ad-filled commentary?

Get off my lawn!

Re:Buckaroo Banzai

[gbjbaanb]

I think Buckaroo is more akin to Bruce Dickinson (wikipedia) who was a rock star, olympic class fencer (I heard he was in the top ten of UK or world fencers), author (with quite a way with titles: "The Adventures of Lord Iffy Boatrace"), and of course - biggest achievement so far is being a commercial airline pilot.

See, when your mom told you that heavy metal was a bad influence, she was wrong. I'd like to see any of today's pop princesses do somehting similar.

Re:Buckaroo Banzai

[Dephex Twin]

He is also a cow-bell enthusiast.

Re:Buckaroo Banzai

[Fizzog]

Speaking of Rock Star Astronomers...

Wayne Parker (of Glass Tiger) is also an Astronomer. He owns a company called SkyShed which recently released a new Personal Observatory Dome called (you guessed it...) a POD. They are getting great reviews are are remarkably affordable (we're talking under $1500!). I am seriously thinking about getting one.

And no, I have no relationship with the company (I'm not sure I even know any of Glass Tiger's songs...), but any amateur Astronomers out there looking for a home observatory should check it out.

http://www.skyshedpod.com/

Re:Buckaroo Banzai

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmm... looks like the US dollar has taken its toll. They are now $1595

Re:Buckaroo Banzai

[Gordonjcp]

Hmm... looks like the US dollar has taken its toll. They are now $1595

Hm, about 15 quid then? Decent...

Re:Buckaroo Banzai

[RobynUofA]

Peter Weller, of Buckaroo Banzai (and Robocop) fame, is an athlete, a jazz musician and a professor of Roman and Renaissance art at Syracuse University. No word yet on race car driving.

Peter Weller

Re:Buckaroo Banzai

[Mallory Weiss]

This is ironic on more levels than one... Of course, the fact that his first college band was named 1984 is just a minor coincidence... Shall we count all his facets, then? Guitarist, astrophysicist, stereo photographer, animal rights activist, involved with bone marrow donor association... me afraid the list might get quite long... I'd like to add one though: a very nice guy. Never met personally, but from brief email exchanges - very friendly... and yes, nerdy. Oh, and also: and incurable romantic. If I forgot to mention something, this is due largely to my current BAL exceeding the norm quite significantly, and I'm a lightweight to boot. So much so that I cannot even spellcheck right now... so I apologoze for any and all possible typos...

He also built his own guitar ... from a fireplace

[permaculture]

Brian May's a bit of a hacker. Most of his music was played on a guitar he built himself.

For example: "The tremolo system is made from an old hardened-steel knife-edge shaped into a V and two motorbike valve springs to counter the string tension."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Special

Reminds me of Richard Feynman...

[RyanFenton]

Instead of a party animal and physicist who spent a lot of time drumming, here's a drummer who's taken advantage of the world around him, and is contributing to man's exploration of astrophysics. Very cool.

Oh, and if you're ever interested in a superb read about a real life nerd superstar, check out "Surely, You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"

Ryan Fenton

Re:Reminds me of Richard Feynman...

[moosesocks]

Upon first reading that book, I couldn't help but keep thinking "Damn that's awesome." Looking back on it after a few years, I think it sort of made him look somewhat like an ass.

But then again, it would be hard for somebody like Richard Feynmann to write an autobiography without sounding just a bit arrogant.

Re:Reminds me of Richard Feynman...

[Anonymous Coward]

May plays guitar, Tard.

Re:Reminds me of Richard Feynman...

[BigBadBus]

Yes, but Brian May never indulged in strip bars. Shame. When I did my PhD at York University, England, we had a 4 year deadline to finish out write-up. Yes, our research council funding finished after 3 years, but stragglers were taking too long to write up and using up resources, so the physics department, maybe the whole Uni (?), put a 4 year limit on it.

Re:Reminds me of Richard Feynman...

[808140]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I read that book when I was a teenager and the entire time I was just in awe of the man. Then, later, I went back and reread it and it was basically just a whole string of "... and then I did this ... and then I did this ... and then I did this ... goddamn I'm awesome."

But, as you said, unlike 99 percent of autobiographers, RP was actually a genius. But he definitely hyped himself up. Did you know that in his entire career, he only wrote 37 research papers? Lots of the stuff he did in his life, while definitely cool, has the feel of a publicity stunt.

When I was a kid, I was a little bit precocious and I remember liking it when people told me I was smart. So I did "smart things" on purpose and cultivated the impression of being the child prodigy that my teachers and parents believed I was. In reality, I was nowhere near as brilliant as I pretended to be; it was all a sham. That didn't stop me from going through a phase as a teenager where I was actually conceited enough to believe my own bullshit, though.

Reading Surely You're Joking ..., I feel like RP is doing the same thing, only on a far, far more massive scale. Unlike me, he really was a genius to start out with, but you can tell that he deliberately cultivated a larger-than-life persona and that he enjoyed being seen as the eccentric, womanizing super-genius. I mean, I can understand that, who wouldn't? But on some level, it's the same self-absorbed behavior that made people hate me when I was 15.

Having said that, his lectures on physics -- a discipline I don't even like -- are still the best textbooks I've ever had the pleasure of educating myself with.

Re:Reminds me of Richard Feynman...

[meringuoid]

Yes, but Brian May never indulged in strip bars.

Strip bars are far too vanilla. You do know the kind of parties Queen liked to throw, right? Sex midgets carrying trays of cocaine around on their heads, that kind of thing?

I have a New Role Model . . .

[simplerThanPossible]

...for late PhD submission.

Re:I have a New Role Model . . .

[nerdonamotorcycle]

Yeah, I'm wondering if Brian May has set some sort of record for being ABD.

Re:He also built his own guitar ... from a firepla

[jimicus]

I particularly like this bit from the article:

"The overall amount May spent on his guitar was £17.50."

Just shows you don't need an expensive instrument to become a legend.

Thats great but..

[Anonymous Coward]

..its always best to strike when your young.

Re:Thats great but..

[Anonymous Coward]

>when your young.
Not going for a PhD in English, I take it?

and at graduation...

[maryjanecapri]

he'll be the commencement speaker and play "We are the champions" AND he'll get paid royalties for it.

this is great. Queen was an amazing group. to think that Brian May had that in him as well? Very nice.

drums.

[slashbart]

Yep Brian May plays guitar and Feynman drums. Both are physicists.
Why the expletive?

Re:drums.

[smurgy]

I don't think Tard is a kind thing to say, but when did it become an expletive?

Re:drums.

[canUbeleiveIT]

You know, that confused me too but maybe the meaning is changing again.

"Expletive" has come to mean something entirely different than when I was a kid. When I was in grammar school, if a word was an expletive, it meant that it didn't add any information (e.g. "I was driving down the "flippin'" road") to the sentence, although in certain instances, it could be needed to make the sentence grammatical.

Because profanity is often an expletive (e.g. "Slashdot is for fucking morons"), it has come to mean profanity, and, maybe now it is coming to mean any derogative.

Re:drums.

[ahab_2001]

I think perhaps "expletive" came to have its sense as particularly referring to profanity when the transcripts of the Nixon tapes were published in the 1970s, during the Watergate affair. "Expletive deleted," the all-purpose substitution used when the transcripts would have shown Nixon using a nasty word, became a slang watchword for any implied-but-not-stated profanity.

Re:drums.

[smurgy]

Most informative! But in this case "tard" is not taking the place of anything, it's a valid descriptor performing an honest function. I suspect that the person who originally used the word "expletive" simply doesn't know what it means, rather than there's been a huge cultural shift in the usage in the world in the last ooooooh five minutes.

Rockers and science Ph.D.'s not uncommon

[hoto0301]

May will soon join the ranks of Ph.D.-holding rockers including Milo Aukerman of the Descendents and Greg Graffin of Bad Religion. Dexter Holland of The Offspring was a Ph.D. candidate as well; unfortunately he did not complete his degree.

Many kudos to May, as his musical talent has been a gift to the world. Similarly, he will give outstanding contributions to the scientific community in the future.

Re:He also built his own guitar ... from a firepla

[Basje]

Of course, back then, that was quite a bit of money for a teenage boy.

Equivalent to about GBP250 US$500 in today's economy, according to this calculator.

not quite

[oohshiny]

I agree that a second Ph.D. is pointless for the reasons you say, however...

So in fact what you really want to do is read for a BA (or BSc) in a new area - just do it at a good university (which unfortunately rules out most).

No, to get started in a new field you want to take MA or MSc courses in a new area; the BA/BSc is supposed to prepare you for graduate study in general. Or just read the books and watch the lectures on-line.

39 and Time Dilation

[TomHandy]

Since no-one's mentioned it, the Brian May song for Queen, '39', is about time dilation, although in a subtle way. That is, he composed it about the idea of some space travelers leaving earth on a mission, taking a year in their time, but when they return to Earth, 100 years have passed.

http://woodside.blogs.com/cosmologycuriosity/2006/ 05/queens_39_and_r.html

http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/04/26/relatively-pl easant/

Not interstellar... probably

[davecl]

The zodiacal dust is actually dust in our own solar system - you can see it at dawn and dusk as the zodiacal light. However, one suggestion in Brian May's thesis is that there may be a component of the zodiacal dust that is interstellar. It's something that future observations he's proposing could test.

It's interesting to note that very little has been done on the zodiacal light since he started his PhD work in the early 70s. However, the next generation of cosmic microwave background satellites like Planck will need improved knowledge of foreground dust so that its contaminating emission can be removed. This has added new interest and impetus to the kind of studies that Brian May is resurrecting.

Dissertation not Thesis

[grgcombs]

PhD candidates write dissertations, not theses.

Re:Dissertation not Thesis

[ahab_2001]

Sorry, what you're saying is a bit misleading. While the opus that leads ultimately to a Ph.D. is formally called a dissertation, it is colloquially (and almost universally, in the program that I was in) referred to as a thesis, by people who are actually in the thick of doing it: "Christ, I'm *never* going to finish this *$&#! thesis."

Websters defines thesis (definition 4) as: "a dissertation embodying results of original research and especially substantiating a specific view; especially : one written by a candidate for an academic degree."

Kind of a pointless post, I know, but I thought I'd mention it . . . And, from an aging Ph.D. holder to an even older candidate: Hooray for you, Brian May! What a kickass (and inspiring) story. Apparently, 60 really *is* the new 30 . . .

Re:Dissertation not Thesis

[grgcombs]

I stand corrected! We've always reserved "thesis" for mere mortal masters students. If I had mod points, I'd bump you up to a "5". Thanks for the correction!

g

Not the only one...

[evilquaker]

For example, the bass player and singer of French death metal band Carcariass has a PhD in CS, and publishes research on distributed numerical techniques. Not only that, he's been working and publishing while the band has been releasing new CDs...

Re:He also built his own guitar ... from a firepla

[canUbeleiveIT]

FTA:Greg Fryer, an Australian guitar luthier, produced 3 copies of the Red Special in 1996/97 with permission from May, who allowed Fryer to x-ray the body for information on the internal cavities in the body, taking exhaustive body measurements for CAD/CAM reproduction, Fryer named his three replicas John, Paul and George. May has 2 of these guitars, John and George while Fryer kept Paul, which was built with slightly different tone woods for a "more aggressive edge" tonally, for himself.

I found this statement odd, since I have always found May's sound to be extremely aggressive and forward. Kind of the antithesis of Mark Knopfler. IMHO, the Queen songs that have turned into sports anthems (We Will Rock You, We are the Champions), have some of the most aggressive guitar riffs in any music.

the man got the order right

[Anonymous Coward]

Become a rock star in your twenties, spend a few decades in the music business before getting serious about studying science in your fifties.

Doing these in the reverse order, as many /. readers are planning, is considerably more difficult.

Now, if THE Queen got her PhD . . .

[simplerThanPossible]

...THAT would be impressive.

Re:Now, if THE Queen got her PhD . . .

[Anonymous Coward]

We are not amused.

Coursework?

[Anonymous Coward]

Did he have to re-take his classes? I thought most places required your classes to be "fresh", e.g. nothing more than five or seven years old can be counted toward your degree.

RED LECTROIDS!!!

[Chas]

Heh.

Look out for Rawhide.

Re:He also built his own guitar ... from a firepla

[Bemopolis]

Yeah, but his guitar pick only cost him sixpence.

I hope that the seven of you who get that joke enjoyed it.

we will, we will Doc you

[simplerThanPossible]

we will, we will Doc you

What other entertainers have technical background?

[walterbyrd]

I think weird Al has a degree in architecture from Cal-Poly. Also, didn't the lead guitarist from Boston have an engineering degree from MIT? I vaguely remember something about Gary Shandling having an engineering degree.

Anybody know of others?

Dancing in the streets of Hyannis

[jeberle]

Reminds me of another great axe-man/engineer of the time, Tom Scholtz (of Boston). The guy could play a mean B3 too!

M.D. /Ph.D.

[OldBaldGuy]

The only place I see mention of multiple PhD holders is in American fiction such as television and Hollywood movies.

I take it you don't do much clinical medical research? The M.D./Ph.D. combo is not uncommon there. The M.D.'s usually have done a residency/passed the specialist boards, too.

Errmmmmm.....

[ibm1130]

Good for him. I do however question just how well he'll be able to defend the thesis soem 37 years on. Submitting it is one thing, the defence is another situation entirely.

There's Hope For Me Yet....

[szyzyg]

I've always been a Queen fan, the most educated rock band in the world, Brian a bit of a hero for me.

I started my astronomy PhD in 1995 at Armagh Observatory, but I also wasted a lot of time hacking on multimedia software for linux building mp3 dj'ing and streaming software.... so I found myself with some job offers in California at internet music companies including Napster, myplay.com and right now imeem.com (which has evolved into youtube for music and video).

I still hope that one day I might find the time between work and family to resume some original research, at the end of next month I'm helping collect data on a meteor shower so there are still tenuous links to the world of research.

His thesis

[Mr. Bad Example]

I'm told the working title for his thesis was The Orbital Mechanics of Fat-Bottomed Girls: Making the Rockin' World Go 'Round.

Re:His thesis

[StikyPad]

That should be a nice introduction to my piece, The Orbital Decay of Fat Bottomed Girls: Another One Bites The Dust.

Greg Graffin of Bad Religion

[dinodriver]

Greg Graffin of punk rock legends Bad Religion has a Ph.D. He was teaching at UCLA when not on tour with the band (founded in 1980 and still playing...) though I believe he found it too time consuming and is now just writing books.

To quote Wikipedia:

"Graffin attended El Camino Real High School, then double majored in anthropology and geology as an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles. He went on to earn a masters degree in geology from UCLA and received his Ph.D. in evolutionary paleontology from Cornell University. However, according to a video clip originally from the Bad Religion official website and also available from The Cornell Evolution Project homepage, the PhD thesis was officially a Zoology PhD thesis, supervised by William B. Provine at Cornell University. The thesis was entitled "Monism, Atheism and the Naturalist Worldview: Perspectives from Evolutionary Biology". It is described as being essentially an evolutionary biology PhD but having also relevance to history and philosophy of science."

more info in the interview here: http://www.punknews.org/article.php?sid=9413

Hope in the Opposite Direction?

[edsyc]

I dropped music for a science PhD... I hope that one day I might find the time between work and family to resume rocking and coercing young ladies.

Sour Grapes

[DynaSoar]

Yeah, it says don't harp on it, but:

Submissions

  Another One Writes The Dust Friday July 13, @02:52PM Rejected

Given the subject of his thesis, my title was better.

That aside, I'm proud to share space with Dr. May on the first page of the Annals of Improbable Research's Luxurious Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (http://www.improb.com/projects/hair/hair-club001. html). I look forward to his entry being updated with "Ph.D".

Re:Sour Grapes

[alienmole]

Another One Writes The Dust Friday July 13, @02:52PM Rejected

Given the subject of his thesis, my title was better.

Ouch. On the groanometer, your title registers a solid 7/10. It would be better if "writes the dust" was a meaningful expression, but as is it's too much of a stretch.

Re:Sour Grapes

[DynaSoar]

> Ouch. On the groanometer, your title registers a solid 7/10. It would be better if "writes the dust" was a meaningful expression, but as is it's too much of a stretch.

Well, it'd be more meaningful if one read TFA and found out his thesis was on observations of the zodiacal dust. But from now on the groaners stay in the article, not in the headline.

Re:Sour Grapes

[alienmole]

I understood the reference perfectly. However, the title doesn't make much sense. English-wise, it might have made more sense if it said "writes about the dust", which of course wouldn't match the song title. The compression detracted from the effect. Hence the groan -- good concept, but didn't quite make it.

I got it, and enjoyed it.

[attemptedgoalie]

I like to think that more than seven people might get it though.

Re:He also built his own guitar ... from a firepla

[tholomyes]

"Even today, according to May, there are two wormholes in the guitar."

Maybe this explains his interest in astrophysics...

Re:What other entertainers have technical backgrou

[Anonymous Coward]

comedian Steve Martin has a degree in philosophy. One of his stage jokes from when he was still doing stand up was that the discipline teaches you just enough to make you screwed in the brain for the rest of your life.

Brian May's current work

[meringuoid]

Every British astro-geek knows who Patrick Moore is. Mad monocled xylophone-playing astronomer, who has presented the programme The Sky at Night since the days when we didn't even know what the other side of the Moon looked like. This show is an institution. Generations of astronomers grew up watching it. Every other science show on the BBC has dumbed down into nonsense - apocalypse of the week shows, mostly. The Sky at Night on the other hand is a proper old-fashioned science show.

Patrick Moore is extremely old and sooner or later will permanently stop presenting the show. Brian May is appearing on the show more and more frequently as time goes by. Someone is needed who (a) knows astronomy and physics thoroughly enough to maintain standards, and who (b) can hold the attention of an audience. I spy a candidate...

And now there are two...

[Genda]

That makes two men of music and higher learning that I deeply admire...

"Tom Lehrer" and now "Brian May"... excellent!

Now if we can get "Ry Cooder" to take up Particle Physics, my life will be complete!

- Oh, John Bigbootey where are you now?!!!

Re:What other entertainers have technical backgrou

[styrotech]

I seem to remember something about Rowan Atkinson (ie Blackadder etc) having an electrical engineering degree...

not so soon...

[Anonymous Coward]

On top of that, perhaps Dr. May's degree...

It is still a little soon to call him Dr May (not Dr. by the way). Let's wait until he has passed examination and the university awarded the degree.

who cares

[Anonymous Coward]

who cares? european PhD's are a huge fucking joke anyway. i know from experience. this only goes to show.

This is a PDF file, darlings!

[Mallory Weiss]

http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iar ticle_query?1974MNRAS.166..439H&data_type=PDF_HIGH &whole_paper=YES&type=PRINTER&filetype=.pdf and, yes, B. H. May is indeed the very same Brian Harold May we're talking about here... Enjoy!

Bill Gates got his degree 30 years late

[peter303]

Harvard finally gave one to the dropout.

In Soviet .....

[aqk]

In Soviet CSS...

Colour is spelled "color".

And I bet Sir Tim doesn't give a FF....

(heh heh! I finally got to use Soviet and CSS together!)