Jeffrey Hall, Director of Lowell Observatory

Jeffrey Hall, Director of Lowell Observatory, is very excited to lead Lowell as they celebrate their 125th Anniversary. He has grown up loving science, which has led him to stay in the astronomy business for the past 28 years. Jeffrey continues to be a very influential person in the Flagstaff community.

LOWELL OBSERVATORY

JEFFREY HALL DIRECTOR OF LOWELL OBSERVATORY

1400 W. Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 lowell.edu | (928) 774-3358

WHY ARE YOU IN YOUR BUSINESS OR PROFESSION? I love science, and I’ve loved astronomy since I was a kid.

HOW LONG HAS YOUR COMPANY BEEN IN BUSINESS OR HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THIS PROFESSION? Lowell Observatory has been here on Mars Hill for 125 years. I got my Ph.D. in 1991, so I’ve been in the business for 28 years.

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR PROFESSIONAL PATH? IF SO, HOW? We’ve probably all had days when we thought that following our chosen calling was a colossal mistake. When I’ve had those days, I’ve thought I should have stuck with music and pursued a career as an organist. But there’s no way I would time-travel now and change my path; it would undo too many wonderful things that have happened over the past 35 years.

FROM WHOM DO YOU SEEK BUSINESS ADVICE? That is a very long list of names, because I almost never sit down with anyone with the sole intent in my mind of getting business advice. Rather, my many day-in day-out conversations with Lowell staff, community members, and others, whether about matters Lowell or non-Lowell, all provide business advice and perspective. I’m constantly picking up and applying ideas from them.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE JUST STARTING OUT IN YOUR PROFESSION? Keep your interests broad, know a lot of stuff, and be nimble, for technology and opportunities keep changing ever more quickly. And don’t take yourself too seriously.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND? PLEASE EXPLAIN.

I try to be an open book. It’s vital for a team to be self-aware and to be objective about its strengths and passions as well as about its weaknesses and demons. All teams and all individuals have both, and objective self-awareness helps one not be cocky about strengths and not be ashamed of weaknesses. That in turn enables one to derive greater benefit from the former and to reduce risk of being derailed by the latter.

TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE YOUR PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS? One of my struggles is imposter syndrome, so my immediate answer to this question is “luck.” Going back to the objectivity thing, I don’t really think that’s true, but I’ve found it interesting how hard it is to put it aside.

WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN? Exercise, mainly cycling (both mountain and road) and going to the gym: besides being fun, maintaining physical conditioning is vital for handling stress and keeping mental focus. I enjoy playing and making synthesizer realizations of great music, though I’ve had little time for my home studio since I became Lowell’s director. And on scattered occasions, I manage to add a few more blocks to an enormous gothic cathedral I’m building in Minecraft.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU? The music of Johann Sebastian Bach. His creations encompass, in my opinion, the most profound beauty that has ever come from the mind of a human being, accomplished through the most rigorously logical – scientific, even – organization of sound. It’s inspiring to me artistically, scientifically, and spiritually.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO LIVE AND STAY IN FLAGSTAFF? I chose Lowell and Flagstaff in 1992 because the research program I was hired for looked very interesting and Wes Lockwood seemed like a great person to work for (he was!).

That three-year appointment has turned into 27 and counting, and I’m still here because Lowell is a fine place to work and because Flagstaff has been a fine place to live and raise a family. Our community has its challenges and stresses, but I still consider myself fortunate to live here.

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU TODAY THAN IT WAS 10 YEARS AGO? Having a clear set of goals, work-related and otherwise, for the next 25 years of my life, especially since that span will likely run up toward (or who knows, possibly past) the conclusion of matters. I have assembled these goals in a possibly OCD set of notes and tables, the hierarchy of which led my oldest son to joke that my to-do list had become a to-do hypercube.

WHAT MANTRA OR RULE DO YOU STRIVE TO LIVE BY? Live honestly.

WHAT IS WORSE THAN FAILURE? Deceit. Success is at best meaningless, and at worst dishonorable, if achieved by deceit or with disregard of others.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE TO BE IN 10 YEARS? Wherever I am, I hope to be looking at a Lowell Observatory with our current financial stress eased. I hope to see our astronomers having to scramble less to fill so much of their salaries on grants, while still enjoying the same freedom of inquiry we try to provide today. I hope to see many more minds challenged and awed each year by the wonders our educators show them. I hope to see Flagstaff thriving as well, and the ongoing relationship between Lowell and the City strong and productive. And I hope to see a society with more temperate, evidencedriven thinking driving our policy decisions, something to which we at Lowell are trying to contribute in our own small way.