Brian May from Queen gets a PhD

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2008-08-01 12:53pm

Brian May, guitarist for rock band Queen, completes Ph.D. thesis following 30-year hiatus

Space & Earth science / Space Exploration

Brian May, the guitarist and founding member of the legendary rock band Queen, earned his PhD in astronomy last year from Imperial College London. His PhD thesis A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud has just been co-published by Springer and Canopus Publishing Ltd.

May's thesis examines the Zodiacal Light, the misty diffuse cone of light seen in the West after sunset and the East before sunrise. Though anyone can see the Zodiacal Light from a suitably dark location, it is poorly understood, and has been the subject of relatively little research. May began his research of the Zodiacal Light in 1970 and completed his research and thesis in 2007, following a 30-year hiatus to play guitar in the well-known rock band Queen.

While some readers may expect a rock-and-roll guitarist to write a popular astronomy book, A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud is a rigorous, academic examination of the Zodiacal Light. May's thesis documents the building of a pressure-scanned Fabry-Perot Spectrometer, equipped with a photomultiplier and pulse-counting electronics, and its deployment at the Observatorio del Teide at Izaña in Tenerife, at an altitude of 7,700 feet (2,567 m), to record high-resolution spectra of the Zodiacal Light. More than 250 scans of morning and evening Zodiacal Light were recorded, in two observing periods in 1971 and 1972.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my years playing guitar and recording music with Queen, but it's extremely gratifying to see the publication of my thesis, A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud," May said. "I've been fascinated with astronomy for years, and I was happy to finally complete my PhD last year and record my studies of the Zodiacal Light in this book."

Just GATHERING that much data earns him a PhD. I'm just glad he didn't do so many drugs he wasn't able to finish it.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2008-08-01 01:31pm

Wow, so that makes him Dr. Brian May, lol.

Zixinus · Post by **Zixinus** » 2008-08-01 01:41pm

I actually applaud this person: he was a good artist and still made a good intellectual effort to do something quite different.

darthbob88 · Post by **darthbob88** » 2008-08-02 02:12am

From what time-warped news outlet did you get this story? Dr May got his doctorate back in May of this year.

According to one of my buddies, he earned it for his work in proving the contribution of callipygian females to the rotation of the Earth.

After all, fat bottomed girls make this rocking world go round.

Slacker · Post by **Slacker** » 2008-08-04 06:31pm

That's a doctoral thesis someone might actually read before it gets filed into the dim dark recesses of a research library somewhere.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2008-08-04 06:44pm

darthbob88 wrote:From what time-warped news outlet did you get this story? Dr May got his doctorate back in May of this year.

According to one of my buddies, he earned it for his work in proving the contribution of callipygian females to the rotation of the Earth.

After all, fat bottomed girls make this rocking world go round.

The story is that his thesis is actually getting published.

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2008-08-04 07:08pm

CaptainChewbacca wrote:
darthbob88 wrote:From what time-warped news outlet did you get this story? Dr May got his doctorate back in May of this year.

According to one of my buddies, he earned it for his work in proving the contribution of callipygian females to the rotation of the Earth.

After all, fat bottomed girls make this rocking world go round.
The story is that his thesis is actually getting published.

Rather than being locked in a research library basement...

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2008-08-05 12:44am

Man, Brian May is so awesome. One of the best guitarists of all time (who built his own legendary guitar) but a doctorate holder in astronomy as well.

darthbob88 · Post by **darthbob88** » 2008-08-05 03:05pm

CaptainChewbacca wrote:
darthbob88 wrote:From what time-warped news outlet did you get this story? Dr May got his doctorate back in May of this year.

According to one of my buddies, he earned it for his work in proving the contribution of callipygian females to the rotation of the Earth.

After all, fat bottomed girls make this rocking world go round.
The story is that his thesis is actually getting published.

You are correct, sir. Remember, kids, this is what happens when you don't RTFA.

JBG · Post by **JBG** » 2008-08-11 12:45am

Gil Hamilton wrote:Man, Brian May is so awesome. One of the best guitarists of all time (who built his own legendary guitar) but a doctorate holder in astronomy as well.

He wasn't a bad guitarist but I wouldn't go overboard. Queen wasn't an axe band. Led Zep, Deep Purple, Pink floyd had, to be honest, just as good guitarists but the style of music they were involved in gave more scope for their talents.

Isn't the Rolling Stone's drummer a world renowned Camellia expert?