Astronomy is Smith’s universe

Aaron Smith (Astronomy ’06) has always been ahead of the game. While a typical first-grader might dream of being a doctor one day, Smith at that age had already decided to be an interplanetary geologist. And while an average college student might wait until second year to delve into a major or research, Smith laid the groundwork for his research in the Virginia Astronomical Instrumentation Laboratory (V.A.I.L.) before he even came to school, during summer orientation.

“My mother says I was born an astronomer,” Smith said. “When I was four years old, I found out that the volcano Olympus Mons, on Mars, was the largest volcano in the solar system. I became obsessed with Mars, and I wanted to study volcanoes on other planets as an interplanetary geologist.”

Smith’s love for extraterrestrial volcanoes subsided only when he reached sixth grade and discovered — and grasped — Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. That year, he purchased his first telescope, commencing his fascination with optics and instrumentation.

“That was the first time I started looking through a telescope seriously,” he said. “I remember the first experiment I ever did in astronomy was measuring the mass of Jupiter based on my own observations with an eyepiece and a ruler.”

He also became proficient with computers. In eighth grade, he built his first computer, “from scratch,” with the guidance of a friend and his friend’s father. And, he added, “I’ve built every computer that I’ve owned since then.”

Smith began researching in an Arizona State University lab his freshman year of high school. With four years’ experience there, he was anxious to arrange a research position at U.Va.; thus, while his classmates spent summer orientation puzzling over what classes to take, Smith paid a visit to Professor Mike Skrutskie, who supervises V.A.I.L.’s optical and infrared group. With his experience and computer skills, Smith was ideal for Skrutskie’s current project, upgrading a 30-inch telescope at Fan Mountain Observatory with improved technology and equipment.

For Smith, astronomy has never been a question. “To be honest, from my first moments in the lab, I have loved every minute of it. It is the best thing in my life.”