He began with cars – now he works with stars.

Andrew P. Gould, professor in the department of astronomy, was employed as an autoworker before he entered into the world of astronomy.

Last spring, Gould was awarded the Distinguished Scholar Award by former Ohio State President William “Brit” Kirwan.

“I was really shocked by it,” Gould said. Kirwan interrupted one of Gould’s classes to make the announcement.

Gould was one of six faculty members to receive the Distinguished Scholar Award, funded by the Alumni Asociation. Each recipient gets a $3,000 honorarium and a $20,000 research grant to use in the next three years.

Gould said he became interested in astronomy when he read a magazine article about the evaporation of the center of the galaxy, known as the black hole.

“I became very excited about it,” he said.

After reading the article, he decided to write a letter to the author offering some suggestions. The author replied with a note of thanks. Gould said he didn’t think the author took his comments seriously, so he decided to do something about it.

After being laid off from his job as an autoworker in 1980, Gould studied astronomy on his own and then entered graduate school when he was 35. Thirteen years separate his undergraduate and graduate degrees, both from Stanford University, he said. His undergraduate degree is in mathematics.

“I’m trying to understand the structure of our galaxy,” Gould said.

Darren DePoy, professor of astronomy, said Gould is a “ridiculously smart” person.

“He drives himself extremely hard,” DePoy said.

He said Gould is very curious about how the universe operates and is extremely focused on his work.

“I think he’s a very intense person,” DePoy said.

Samir Salim, a graduate student in astronomy, said he was very intimidated about working with Gould.

“I met him, basically, when I started my graduate study five years ago,” he said.

Salim said many students who work with Gould are intimidated at first.

“He’s always breathing down your neck,” Salim said. “The pressure is there, but it’s meant to motivate the student to work to his or her own potential.”

Salim said Gould’s students see how devoted he is to his profession. “It’s quite a unanimous opinion that he is quite dedicated to teaching.”

Salim said he has enjoyed working with Gould on various projects. “It’s a huge motivation working with Andy,” he said.

He said Gould also gives students full credit for the work they do on various projects, which is not always the case with other professors.

Salim described Gould as an open-minded person.

“Actually he’s a person with whom you can talk about many different things,” he said.

“He’s an incredibly intense person,” said Gerald Newsom, professor of astronomy and vice chair of the department. Newsom said Gould has a great imagination and a “very fertile mind.”

As a professor, Newsom said, Gould is very demanding. He is very concerned that his students be prepared for the outside world.

Gould is ardently focused on his research, Newsom said. He studies many different areas, but does much research with the gravitational reflection of light, called microlensing.

Newsom said he has known Gould since 1993. “I’m just glad he’s in our department,” he said.

Gould has a policy of sharing his office with a graduate student. It’s not a common procedure practiced by professors, but Newsom said those students who have shared Gould’s office with him have gone on to excellent jobs.

Jin An, a graduate student in astronomy, is sharing Gould’s office. An said Gould is very enthusiastic when it comes to educating. “In terms of teaching … he is always eager, which can be quite a strong stimulant for the students.”

An said he believes he was chosen to share the office with Gould because of a project he has been working on with him. “In most cases it lasts about a year and during that time the student can get rigorous attention and supervision, which is one of his ways of training a research scientist,” he said.

“The experience has been positive,” An said. “I think (the) most important influence for me (came) from witnessing his devotion to the science and probably (his) work ethics,” he said.

Gould said although he doesn’t have much spare time, he does like to hike, run and ride his bike, which he keeps in his office while at work.

Gould is now finishing his ninth year at Ohio State.