Prof. Thijs de Graauw investigates possibilities for astronomy and instrumentation

Thijs de Graauw obtained his doctorate in 1975 in Utrecht, where he studied physics and astronomy. During the doctoraal phase of his studies, he was temporarily in contact with professor Veltman in Delft, who held the chair in Control Theory. De Graauw was looking into the possibilities of coding spectra as a thesis subject. After completing his studies, he worked with the ESA for 8 years and then joined SRON (the Netherlands Institute for Space Research), where he has been working for the past 25 years.  

HIFI
At SRON, Thijs de Graauw is the scientific project leader of the HIFI – the most complicated instrument ever built by SRON. As he explains, 23 institutes from 11 countries have worked on it. The German EADS-Astrium in Friedrichshafen is currently installing the HIFI into the Herschel satellite as one of its three scientific instruments. The Herschel satellite will become a space telescope with a mirror area more than twice the size of that of the Hubble Space Telescope. This European man-made satellite is, however, not a telescope for visible light. It studies far infra-red and sub-millimetre radiation from the cosmos. The Dutch HIFI instrument, in the focus of a gigantic mirror, does not produce impressive colour photographs, reports Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, but detailed spectra – wavy lines and graphs that form a sort of fingerprint of molecules in distant galaxies and starburst galaxies, including water molecules.  

Research group
“Setting up a research group in Delft is attractive because of the many possibilities for collaboration,” says De Graauw. Advanced astronomical observations require a wide variety of technologies that are much more readily available at a technically-oriented university. “We are searching for new ways of detecting the frequency ranges of visible light to the millimetre. These are complex techniques, in which we want to optimise the ‘heart’ of the detection system by means of a full understanding of the physics of the process.” Nanoscience – De Graauw mentions Teun Klapwijk as one of the initiators – plays a central role in this.  

The light
“The far infra-red. That does something to people. As if they have seen the light,” writes Wim Boevink in the newspaper Trouw. “Astro physics appeals to the imagination,” says De Graauw. “People are looking for the origins of human life, of the universe, for possible other life forms. I’m sure this will be extremely attractive to students as well.” And has he seen the light himself? “The light? No,” smiles De Graauw. “The research is inspiring: it poses questions about the formation of stars and planets from intergalactic matter, and so about the conditions that can lead to the development of life. Following this line, there is interest in the development from single-celled to multi-celled and higher life forms; via the work of Frans de Waal to philosophers Popper and Martha Nussbaum. And us? What are we...? But no. It is just research. With both feet firmly on the ground.”