#SoCaltech: Ian Brunton

“My interest in planets began in elementary school, where I’d read every book our little library had on the solar system. Later, however, I decided to join the military, which shifted my academic focus to international relations and political theory. It wasn’t until after leaving the Navy that I went back to the physical sciences. These two academic paths are a bit distant, but, through the years, I’ve developed an appreciation for the closeness of their theoretical structures and how we go about assigning order to complex systems. To get anywhere in our understanding, we have to build and mold our frameworks around certain assumptions. And, you know, at the root of it, the structural theories of a social science like international relations—which attempts to assign order to state action—are built upon the same organizational frameworks of, say, classical mechanics, which itself arose from attempts to assign order to planetary movement. From there, of course, the methods differ, but the foundation remains the same. And the question of whether the order that we derive in our theories actually exists in reality or exists merely in our framework is a big part of my interest, regardless of field.

“Now that I’m in the physical sciences, I also try to maintain a sense of service that was central to my military career. It can be difficult to see a link between studying far-off astrophysical phenomena and serving others right here on Earth, but I think of service more as a mindset not tied to any profession or title. And so long as you seek out ways to push yourself toward some higher cause, the opportunities to serve will come about, and you’ll find your way to help others.”

Ian Brunton is a graduate student in planetary science at Caltech and a research scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. He previously served as a U.S. Navy SEAL and now studies planetary astrophysics while also enjoying field geology.

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.