The brainy musician embarked on his last piece of observational work on Spain's Canary Islands in July (07), but was pleased to finally lay the project to rest this week (ends03Aug07). May originally quit the Imperial College, London, project to join his band, and is adamant he will never regret putting his music before his studies. He says, "It's been the longest gap year ever. It was a tough decision back then to leave my studies for music (but my) passion for music was stronger. "I'm so proud to be here today. Astronomy has always interested me. I used to love sitting at home and watching (British astronomer) Sir Patrick Moore on the Sky at Night." May handed in the 48,000-word paper, called Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud, to the University's head of astrophysics Professor Paul Nandra, but will have to return to college to discuss his thesis with the examining board on 23 August (07). And May admits the wait will be nerve-wracking, saying, "If I fail I will fail big time. It will be a very public failure with all this press."


Source: http://www.contactmusic.com:80/news.nsf/article/may%20hands%20in%20phd%20thesis_1039580