Rhondale Tso

"I had a science teacher that would take us on trips if we maintained a certain grade. One trip we went on was to Lowell Observatory, where astronomers discovered Pluto in 1930. When touring the place we got to look through some of the telescopes. That was the first time I saw a galaxy; it was an amazing sight. That night had a profound impact on me, just being able to see something with my own two eyes light years away put me in awe. The thought that countless stars existed in that galaxy, just like our own, made me realize the universe exists on a scale we actually have the ability to comprehend. That same year the science teacher introduced me to a nuclear physicist working at Los Alamos. Fred Begay is the first physicist in my tribe, which is Navajo, and I was impressed by his story. He earned his degree in physics at a time when the odds were stacked against him, the 1960s were a brutal time in terms of the educational system on tribal reservations. That was my first and only time meeting him, a meeting that lasted 20 minutes was probably a major foreshadow at my eventual path in life. "

Rhondale Tso is a graduate student at California Institute of Technology and works on the theory and tests of general relativity.  He is an avid cycler and likes reading and writing science fiction.