Some graduates take their education to the extreme. You can count Steve Parshley '98 among them. A physics major who moved on to become a research support specialist at Cornell University, Parshley now finds himself studying stars at the South Pole. He works at the Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory (AST/RO) located at Admunsen-Scott South Pole Station.

Parshley got the job while working in Cornell's astronomy department. He helped design and build a specialized instrument for the AST/RO facility. The device, dubbed SPIFI (South Pole Imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer), detects submillimeter-band microwaves. "I came down to the South Pole last year to deploy SPIFI," he said. "Since I knew the instrument inside and out, and I have a good technical background, I was offered this position."

Using SPIFI, Parshley is conducting spectroscopy of atomic and molecular carbon clouds in the Milky Way galaxy to better understand star formation and the effect of stars on their surroundings. "Water vapor in our atmosphere absorbs the wavelengths we're trying to observe," he said. "The South Pole is ideal for these observations because we are at a high elevation, about 10,000 feet, which gets us above a lot of the water vapor. And it's so cold here that most of the water vapor in the air freezes out."

Parshley expects some interesting findings as the Antarctic winter peaks. "The 'seeing' weather improves in the winter," he said. "It gets colder and drier, so we can really start looking at the shorter wavelengths." Though the viewing conditions may improve, the living conditions won't follow suit. Without sunlight, temperatures can reach -100°F. In the cold, the station's 86 winter residents tend to stay inside. "It kind of reminds me of college," he said. "You have your own room with a bed, desk, and dresser. There are lounges to hang out in and play games. There are three full-time cooks who are awesome, and we stay pretty busy. People help each other and look out for each other."

Parshley credits the landing of his unique job in part to the hands-on undergraduate experience he got in the IC physics department. "Learning how to troubleshoot, think on your feet, being meticulous and patient, those are all important skills in this job, and those are all skills that I cultivated at IC."

Parshley expects to return from the South Pole in October, just in time to catch an Ithaca winter. Which place is colder in January? "Antarctica by a narrow margin," he said. "It was actually warmer here than in Ithaca once or twice last January."