Thursday, October 30, 1997
g-man
For teaching assistant Ranga Ram-Chary, students are the moon
and the stars
By Carol McKay
Daily Bruin Staff
"If you want to throw rotten eggs at me for doing badly on the
midterm, now is your chance," announced the 23-year-old teaching
assistant (TA) to his section. Fortunately for Ranga Ram-Chary – a
graduate student who spends the majority of his time researching
gamma (g) rays for his thesis in cosmology – students don’t throw
eggs all that often.
Chary, a TA for Astronomy 5, said that he tries to make his
classes as interactive as possible to keep student interest level
high. But after spending the first 25 minutes of his Friday morning
discussion section passing out midterms and going over students’
questions about the exam, Chary seemed stumped as to the next
step.
"OK," he said aloud. "What am I going to teach you today?"
Beginning with an explanation of UCLA Professor Paul Boyer’s
Nobel Prize winning discovery concerning adenosine triphosphate
(ATP), Chary attempted to translate the science jargon into
something his primarily north campus students could understand.
"It was about ATP formation," Chary said. "Which is not the
Association of Tennis Professionals."
Simplifying science lingo for his humanities-oriented students
is one of Chary’s biggest challenges. "I’ve become a lot more
patient. I used to be terribly impatient," he said about his
teaching style, which has changed throughout his time at UCLA.
Students taking Astronomy 5 appreciate Chary’s methods.
"Sometimes he stands back from the chalkboard and says, ‘What the
hell did I just do?’ He’s very laid-back, the kind of TA you can
talk to as a friend," said Ashley Harre, a second-year English
student enrolled in Astronomy 5.
Chary, who has been at UCLA for two years, is currently working
on the thesis for his doctorate in cosmology. Having been a TA for
three courses, this fall marks his fourth, and most likely last,
quarter of doing the blackboard bit.
"It eats up a lot of research time," Chary explained. And for a
student trying to earn both masters and doctorate degrees in a
five-and-a-half-year period, time is a very valuable thing.
Research, which begins after five quarters of course work,
demands great amounts of time from the astronomy graduate student,
and small breakthroughs are a big deal.
"I’ve been fiddling around with this for a year," Chary motioned
to a dry erase board masked with blue scribbles. Chary recently
finished working out an equation to calculate figures concerning
gamma rays and electrons in the galaxy. The next step is to create
a computer program that would simulate his equation and do the work
for him.
Chary estimated that he devotes at least 20 hours a week to
gathering, analyzing and creating computer programs for his
data.
Originally from India, Chary came to the United States after
completing a bachelor’s degree in computer science at an Indian
university. He has not returned to see his family, but has traveled
great distances for slightly different reasons.
"I went to the West Indies once just to watch a cricket match,"
Chary said, laughing. "People here don’t understand it. Cricket is
just like coffee for Southern Indians. We have to have it."
Cricket, however is only one of Chary’s numerous hobbies that
together create his weekly routine.
"On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I run. On Saturday mornings, I play
cricket. Some Thursdays, when it’s warmer, I go windsurfing. And I
play tennis whenever I can find a partner in between," he said.
Based on the list of recreational activities, Chary may seem
like a guy with a lot of time on his hands. Not so. On an average
day, he is at work in his office on the eighth floor of the Math
and Sciences building by 8 a.m., and he usually doesn’t return to
his Westwood home until at least 6 p.m.
And between those times, he does a lot of sitting at his desk,
staring at his computer and drinking coffee. "Coffee is an integral
part of being a researcher," he explained. "It’s almost a social
thing, walking to the fifth floor of Boelter Hall a couple of times
a day to get coffee. It’s not very good, in general. But it’s
cheap."
Getting through a day of research involves more than just coffee
breaks. According to Chary, his process consists of a cycle of
collecting data, reducing it, and writing as often as he can.
"We have a saying. It’s ‘publish or perish,’" Chary said. "You
have to be broad. And they care about quality and quantity."
Chary’s "they" are employers, who judge potential employees
partly on their works published. Chary, who is lucky to have three
publications under his belt, said that the process of getting a
work printed takes a half year "at best."
"It takes three months just to gather the research and at best,
another three months to write and rewrite and make editor’s
changes," he said. And the topics of these papers must be
independent research, not connected to the researcher’s thesis.
"Nit-picking on a paper is always a good thing," Chary said, on
the polishing phase of producing publications. "It takes ages to
get from the first draft to the final draft. But it’s actually
fairly exciting. You go out and drink a few beers."
According to Chary, publication celebrations are not the only
occasion when the astronomy department breaks down and throws a
party. Every Friday evening, the department holds a social
gathering to celebrate the end of the week.
"We call it the ‘Friday Dewar.’ We drink beer and soft drinks
and have chips and salsa. Even some members of the faculty come,"
he said.
Chary’s office contains proof of the weekly parties. Cardboard
boxes that previously contained 24-packs of sodas and beer line
floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves along the wall of his office, which
he shares with another astronomy graduate student.
Also covering empty wall space are a Star Wars poster, computer
print-outs of galaxies and "equations to remember," and an aging
1984 map of UCLA. Three overgrown plants with dried, brown tips
dominate a corner desk. But according to Chary, few students ever
see this decor.
"Students very rarely take advantage of office hours," he said.
"Except around the midterms and final. That’s when the maximum
amount of students show up." As a part-time TA, Chary is
responsible for 13 hours each week, which includes teaching
discussion sections, attending lectures, grading papers, hosting
office hours and preparing for class.
Chary is also required as an astronomy TA to instruct students
in a sort of open house several times a quarter at the telescopes
that sit atop the Math Sciences Building. Last night Chary led
students in searching for stars and planets in the sky.
"That’s Arcturus," he said, pointing out a star. "There are
rhymes to remember their names, like ‘Follow the arc to Arcturus.’
I think that’s Jupiter over there. I can tell what the bright ones
are, but not really for the faint ones. There are some people here
in the department who can name them all."
Of course, looking for stars in Los Angeles isn’t the best
place. "When the clouds start moving in, that’s when it gets really
crappy. Oh, come on," he said, urging Jupiter to come out from
behind clouds.
"Smog plays a big role in visibility," Chary said. "Damn clouds.
That’s what astronomers like to do: complain about the clouds."
After a long day, Chary heads home. Just a 10-minute walk from
his office, Chary unlocked his door, while contemplating the source
of an aroma coming from his room. "I wonder what my roommate is
cooking," he said.
At home, classical CDs and copies of National Geographic and
Physics Today spill over shelves. Posters of India and a calendar
displaying Cricket champions hang on the wall.
Chary, who said that he only cooks once every three days – "and
then eats the leftovers" – is a vegetarian. Measuring lentils to
add to a concoction that is soon to be curry, Chary said that he
strives to one day be as good as his mother, whom he looks forward
to visiting with when he returns to India this winter break.
"But I don’t know if that’s possible."Every Thursday, the Daily
Bruin takes a look inside the world of
various UCLA students. In this continuing series, we highlight
the many different activities Bruins are involved in.
Cosmology graduate student Ranga Ram-Chary works the crowd in a
discussion section for Astronomy 5. One student testifies to his
informal style: "Sometimes he stands back from the chalkboard and
says, ‘What the hell did I just do?’"Chary teaches 13 hours of
class a week – an experience that he says has "made him more
patient."
In addition to peering into telescopes on top of the Math
Sciences Building, Chary spends his work hours getting cozy with
his computer and drinking toxin-flavored institutional coffee.