Baptism of fire fruitful for astronomer's career

Dr Ian Griffin

Chief executive, Auckland Observatory and Planetarium Trust Observatory

Staff:14 and about 30 volunteers.

The Observatory is an educational charitable trust.


What makes your day at work?


One of the nice things about what I do is that sometimes it is possible to go home knowing that, albeit in a small way, I have changed the way someone thinks about the world. Seeing the spark of excitement in a child's eyes when he or she first looks through a telescope at Saturn, having a passionate debate with a creationist about the big bang, or simply hearing people react to a show I might have helped produce really fires up the enthusiasm to ensure that all the behind-the-scenes work of managing, fundraising and production is done to the best of my ability.

As an astronomer, I must also say that having access to one of the best telescopes in the southern hemisphere and being able to use it to hunt for new minor planets is real fun, too.


How did you get where you are today?


Probably by a combination of hard work, enthusiasm for what I do and, of course, some luck thrown in for good measure.

Having a very tolerant family is also quite important, especially since the sort of work I do and the relatively small number of observatories and planetariums around the world often means moving from one vountry to another when you want to advance your career.


What is your advice to someone starting out?


If you have the chance to work in a field which really interests you, go for it. Have fun and be confident in your own abilities, but try not to take yourself too seriously.


What was your biggest career break?


Being appointed director of the Armagh Planetarium in Northern Ireland when I was 24. Going from an astronomy research position in London to managing a $2 million per year educational charity with a staff of 10 (all of whom were older than me) was quite a challenge, especially when coupled with poor economy and violence in the province at the time. I had to learn a huge amount about financial management, business planning and team building in an incredibly short period in order to ensure the organisation survived some troubled times and prospered.

Although at the time it felt like a baptism of fire, I found the whole experience exciting. In many ways, the lessons I learned during five years in Armagh have helped me every day since I left.


Who was your most important mentor?


I have never been fortunate enough to have a single mentor to guide me through the many pitfalls of management, so I have had to learn from my mistakes.

However, each organisation I have directed has always had a very good bunch of trustees, all of whom have provided much useful advice to me over the years.


What's the biggest challenge for your organisation?


Financial sustainability. As an educational charitable trust, our work is entirely supported by revenue from ticket sales and what small grants and sponsorship we can obtain from generous donors. Since we are so dependant on selling tickets to our planetarium shows, it is vital that they are as entertaining and educational as possible, in order that people want to come back and visit us often.

Most of my time recently has been spent trying to gain funding for a number of exciting capital projects and exhibitions we would like to develop over the next year or so, so if anyone thinks he or she would like to sponsor, for example, a hunt for Earth-crossing killer asteroids using our telescope, please contact me.


Can you describe any of the equipment in the Stardome? Is there any particular NZ-made equipment that is particularly innovative?


The Stardome has an advanced high-tech multimedia planetarium system, valued at about $3 million. We produce all shows in-house. They are written, produced and edited by our production team of myself and Jim Robinson.


What skill would you like to have?


Although I can get by in a couple of languages, I would love to be able to have enough time to immerse myself and become really fluent in one of them. I would love to learn to play the guitar too.


How do you relax?


I love listening to music, and go to as many films and concerts as I can. When I was a student I learned to juggle and, strange as it may sound, I find that a little juggling can be quite therapeutic after a long day at work.

My main relaxation, though, is spending as much time as I can with my wife Maria and my three young children. Having just spent four years in Florida, it's great fun to live in a city with hills and most Sundays you can spot the Griffins scrambling the hard way up one of Auckland's volcanic cones, en route to a snack at the top.


* Dr Ian Griffin spoke with Susan Jennison.