Origins: Fred Watson comes from a long line of Freds, but seems to have been the first in the family to become an astronomer. He was born and raised on the outskirts of Bradford in Yorkshire, northern England. He went to school at Belle Vue Boys' Grammar School in Bradford, where he became hooked on astronomy. (Neglecting the calendar change in 1752, Fred was born 398 years to the day after the great Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe.)
Higher education: Fred went to university in Scotland, beginning an academic career that lasted quite a long time. He studied mathematics and physics at the University of St Andrews (BSc, 1967) and later did a master's degree in astronomy there (MSc, 1975). Later still, in 1987, he gained his PhD from the University of Edinburgh (for a thesis on Multi- Object Astronomical Spectroscopy with Optical Fibres). The other thing Fred learned at university was how to look as if you can sing and play the guitar, and for many years he frequented the folk clubs of Scotland and northern England. This trick still comes in handy on ABC radio and at occasions such as Science in the Pub and Coonabarabran's Festival of the Stars.
Work: Fred's first job was as an optical physicist with the telescope building firm of Sir Howard Grubb Parsons & Co. Ltd., of Newcastle upon Tyne, now no longer in existence. He also worked at the former Royal Greenwich Observatory at Herstmonceux and Cambridge (in the 1970s and 1990s) and the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (in the 1970s and 1980s). These jobs took him to telescopes in Hawaii and the Canary Islands, as well as to a new life in Australia during the early 1980s. Here, Fred helped to pioneer the use of fibre optics in astronomy at the start of a new era of statistical studies of stars and galaxies. He was responsible for an instrument called FLAIR on the UK Schmidt Telescope, and was later Project Scientist for the WYFFOS system on the William Herschel Telescope (commissioned 1995) and 6dF on the UK Schmidt Telescope (commissioned 2001).
In 1995, Fred became Astronomer-in-Charge of the Anglo-Australian Observatory at Coonabarabran, which is his present job. His role is to help to maintain the scientific productivity of the AAO's two telescopes, and ensure that they remain centres of excellence in astronomy. The task includes protecting the Observatory's night sky from light pollution, and long-term strategic planning with the Director and Board of the AAO.
Fred has contributed to several major surveys of the motions of stars and galaxies. He is a team-member of the 6dF Galaxy Survey, now completed, and is Project Manager for the 10-nation RAVE (RAdial Velocity Experiment) project to measure the speeds of a million stars. He is also interested in future extremely large telescopes, dark-sky preservation, global virtual observatories and astronomy education.
Other affiliations: Fred is an honorary Professor of Astronomy in the University of Southern Queensland, an adjunct Professor in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences in the Queensland University of Technology, and an adjunct Professor at James Cook University. Fred is a Board member of the NSW Foundation for Public Education, and a member of the Education Advisory Group of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Steering Committee.
Other activities: Fred's interests outside work centre on music, science communication, and writing. These activities came together in a unique manner in Star Chant, the choral fourth symphony of Australian composer Ross Edwards, for which Fred wrote the text. This multi-media work also uses celestial images by David Malin, and was premiered at the Adelaide Festival in March 2002. It has also been performed in the Sydney Opera House. Fred contributed the text for a new Edwards choral piece, Mountain Chant, which was premiered by the Melbourne Chorale in June 2003. At the other end of the musical scale, Fred's intergalactic blues with his old Gibson guitar are the subject of a CD, An Alien Like You! released in 2008.
When time permits, Fred carries out research into the history of scientific instruments. He has written two books on optical instruments, and was a contributor to the awardwinning historical encylopaedia Instruments of Science.