From 1948 to 1981 Aarons worked as a senior scientist at the Air Force Geophysics Research Laboratory at Hanscom Field, where his research helped to improve satellite and global positioning technology. Sunanda Basu of the National Science Foundation described Aarons as "a pioneer in beacon satellite studies of the ionosphere" whose name "has now become synonymous with the field of ionospheric scintillations." Having worked with many European scientists while studying in Paris, in 1957 he formed the Joint Satellite Studies Group, an international group of scientists who studied atmospheric effects on satellite signals. This group eventually expanded to become the Beacon Satellite Studies (BSS) Group, which still holds biannual meetings around the world. Early on, he encouraged his BSS colleagues to set up numerous ionospheric monitoring stations, which later proved useful to the Air Force in designing its space-based communication and navigation systems. The group's research laid the groundwork for ionospheric space-weather studies.[3]
In 1981 Aarons became a research professor in the astronomy department at Boston University, and in 1987 helped to establish the university's Center for Space Physics.[1][2] While at B.U. he researched the effects of magnetic storms on the equatorial and high-latitude ionosphere using GPS satellites. He published over a hundred scientific papers in the course of his career, and edited a book about scintillation phenomena.[3]
Radio Astronomical and Satellite Studies of the Atmosphere. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company. 1963.
As author:
Solar System Radio Astronomy: Lectures Presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute of the National Observatory of Athens (1965). Plenum Press.
High Latitude Models, Observations, and Analysis of Ionospheric Scintillations (1973). Air Force Cambridge Research Lab.
The Effects of Magnetic Storm Phases on F-Layer Irregularities from Auroral to Equatorial Latitudes (1989). Boston University Center for Space Physics.
Aarons first became interested in photography as a youth, taking pictures of his family in Rockaway, New York.[4] Later, while pursuing his college degrees and working as a scientist, he continued to develop his craft, taking his camera with him on business trips around the world. He is best known for his photographs of Boston's ethnically diverse West End and predominantly Italian North End neighborhoods, taken during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Much of the West End was razed in the late 1950s as part of a large-scale urban renewal project, making Aarons's photographs of the area especially important for historical purposes; the Boston Public Library has an extensive collection of his work.[5]
As a street photographer he was influenced by Sid Grossman, Lisette Model, Henri Cartier-Bresson[2] and Brassaï.[6] His work has also been compared to that of Helen Levitt and Leon Levinstein.[7] He took informal photos of people in public places, often without their knowledge. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Aarons chose not to focus on the lives of the downtrodden, writing in his notes: "I resolved to capture the day-to-day life experiences of the people, avoiding scenes of poverty." His street scenes are often lively and vibrant, populated by ordinary people who are portrayed with dignity, evincing a fundamentally humane outlook. He was keenly interested in the way people presented themselves in public: often with flair, as in Boy in Front of Girls, North End, 1955 (shown), in which a young man, presumably Italian-American, strikes a dramatic pose for the camera.[8][9][10][11][12]
Unlike many other street photographers, he opted for a twin-lens reflex camera (Ciro-flex, and later a Rolleiflex) rather than a 35 mm camera. Shooting from waist level rather than eye level made him less conspicuous, and therefore less likely to intrude on the candid scenes.[6] Even more than his subjects and composition, it was his printing skill that distinguished him as a photographer. He kept a darkroom in the basement of his home, which was featured in an episode of This Old House in 2010; a segment of the show was devoted to his photography.[11]
^Feeney, Mark (8 December 2009). "A close-up view of everyday people". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2015. Jules Aarons's work, in contrast, is a marvel of liveliness. That contrast in energy, as well as a comparably humane outlook...
^ abSchmidt, Aaron (2010), This Old House, It first of all starts with a love of humanity...
^McQuaid, Cate (18 September 2002). "Despite Gaps, Exhibit Shows Boston's Vigor in the '40s". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017. Jules Aarons's black-and-white photos portray children in Boston neighborhoods with grace and dignity.
^"Acquisitions July 2006-June 2007", Annual Report (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston): 40–67, 2007, JSTOR43473990
