Adam Frank

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Adam Frank
RochesterAcademyOfScienceAnnualSpringLecture2024DrakeEquationWithData.jpg
Frank delivering a lecture at a Rochester Academy of Science meeting in 2024
Born1962
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater University of Colorado
University of Washington
Known forPopular scientific writing
Scientific career
Fields Physics, author, astrophysics professor
Institutions Leiden University
University of Minnesota
University of Rochester

Adam Frank (born 1962) is an American physicist, astronomer, and writer. His scientific research has focused on computational astrophysics with an emphasis on star formation and late stages of stellar evolution. His work includes studies of exoplanet atmospheres and astrobiology. The latter include studies of the generic response of planets to the evolution of energy-intensive civilizations (exo-civilizations).

Contents

His popular writing has focused on issues of science in its cultural context. Topics include: issues of climate and the human future, technology, and cultural evolution; the nature of mind and experience; science and religion. He is a co-founder of the 13.7 Cosmos and Culture Blog that originated on National Public Radio (NPR), [1] and he is a regular on-air contributor to NPR's All Things Considered . He is an occasional contributor to the New York Times.

Life and career

Frank was born on August 1, 1962, in Belleville, New Jersey.[ citation needed ] He attended the University of Colorado for his undergraduate work and received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington. He held post-doctoral positions at Leiden University in the Netherlands and the University of Minnesota. In 1995, Frank was awarded the Hubble Fellowship. [2] In 1996, he joined the faculty of the University of Rochester, where he is a professor of astrophysics.

Frank's research focus is astrophysical fluid dynamics. His research group developed the AstroBEAR adaptive mesh refinement code used for simulating magneto fluid dynamics flows in astrophysical contexts. [3] Projects using AstroBEAR include the study of jets from protostars as well the evolution of planetary nebula at the end of the life of a solar-type star.

In 2008, Frank authored an article for Discover magazine that explored scientific arguments regarding the big bang theory. [4] Frank's first book, entitled The Constant Fire: Beyond the Science vs. Religion Debate, was published in 2009. It discussed the ongoing relationship between science and religion. His work appeared in 2009 Best Science and Nature Writing [5] and in 2009 Best Buddhist Writing.[ citation needed ] In 2010, Frank co-founded the NPR 13.7 Cosmos and Culture Blog with Marcelo Gleiser. [6]

A second book by Frank was published in fall 2011, About Time: Cosmology and Culture at the Twilight of the Big Bang. It explores the relationship between changing ideas in cosmology and the cultural idea of time. [7] In 2016, Frank wrote an article entitled "Yes, There Have Been Aliens". It is based on his astronomical observations, which stated "a trillion civilizations still would have appeared over the course of cosmic history". [8] Frank wrote a college-level science textbook entitled Astronomy At Play in the Cosmos. It was published in September 2016. [9] Another book by Frank, Light of the Stars. Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth, was published on June 12, 2018. It attempts to reframe debates about climate change by showing it to be a generic phenomena that is likely to occur with almost any technological civilization on any planet. In the book, he explores what Frank calls the Astrobiology of the Anthropocene. [10] Frank and Gleiser's blog moved to Orbiter magazine [11] in 2018 with a new name, 13.8: Science, Culture, and Meaning. [12]

Shortly after he and colleagues were awarded a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to look for evidence of advanced technology on planets outside the solar system, on May 30, 2021, Frank's guest essay, I'm a Physicist Who Searches for Aliens. U.F.O.s Don't Impress Me. was published in the New York Times. [13] In the article, he noted the mathematical probabilities over time for extraterrestrial civilizations in the universe, however, he put forth plausible explanations for the nature of the phenomenon described in reports that have appeared in media since 1947 and lamented about the lack of scientific study of such phenomenon, which he would encourage. Furthermore, he responded to assertions that the aliens presumed to be evident in these reports could have been intending to remain hidden, by asserting, "...if the mission of these aliens calls for stealth, they seem surprisingly incompetent. You would think that creatures technologically capable of traversing the mind-boggling distances between the stars would also know how to turn off their high beams at night and to elude our primitive infrared cameras.

In September 2023, astrophysicists, including Frank, questioned the overall current view of the universe, in the form of the Standard Model of Cosmology, based on the latest James Webb Space Telescope studies. [14]

Awards and recognition

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Bang</span> Physical theory

The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. It was first proposed as a physical theory in 1931 by Roman Catholic priest and physicist Georges Lemaître when he suggested the universe emerged from a "primeval atom". Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the earliest known periods through its subsequent large-scale form. These models offer a comprehensive explanation for a broad range of observed phenomena, including the abundance of light elements, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, and large-scale structure. The uniformity of the universe, known as the flatness problem, is explained through cosmic inflation: a sudden and very rapid expansion of space during the earliest moments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physical cosmology</span> Branch of cosmology which studies mathematical models of the universe

Physical cosmology is a branch of cosmology concerned with the study of cosmological models. A cosmological model, or simply cosmology, provides a description of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and allows study of fundamental questions about its origin, structure, evolution, and ultimate fate. Cosmology as a science originated with the Copernican principle, which implies that celestial bodies obey identical physical laws to those on Earth, and Newtonian mechanics, which first allowed those physical laws to be understood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwin Hubble</span> American astronomer (1889–1953)

Edwin Powell Hubble was an American astronomer. He played a crucial role in establishing the fields of extragalactic astronomy and observational cosmology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fermi paradox</span> Discrepancy between lack of evidence of advanced alien life and apparently high likelihood it exists

The Fermi paradox is the discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life and the apparently high likelihood of its existence. As a 2015 article put it, "If life is so easy, someone from somewhere must have come calling by now."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multiverse</span> Hypothetical group of multiple universes

The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The different universes within the multiverse are called "parallel universes", "flat universes", "other universes", "alternate universes", "multiple universes", "plane universes", "parent and child universes", "many universes", or "many worlds". One common assumption is that the multiverse is a "patchwork quilt of separate universes all bound by the same laws of physics."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redshift</span> Change of wavelength in photons during travel

In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation. The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and increase in frequency and energy, is known as a blueshift, or negative redshift. The terms derive from the colours red and blue which form the extremes of the visible light spectrum. The main causes of electromagnetic redshift in astronomy and cosmology are the relative motions of radiation sources, which give rise to the relativistic Doppler effect, and gravitational potentials, which gravitationally redshift escaping radiation. All sufficiently distant light sources show cosmological redshift corresponding to recession speeds proportional to their distances from Earth, a fact known as Hubble's law that implies the universe is expanding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmos</span> Universe as a complex and orderly system or entity

The cosmos is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word cosmos implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extragalactic astronomy</span> Study of astronomical objects outside the Milky Way Galaxy

Extragalactic astronomy is the branch of astronomy concerned with objects outside the Milky Way galaxy. In other words, it is the study of all astronomical objects which are not covered by galactic astronomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astronomy</span> Scientific study of celestial objects

Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, meteoroids, asteroids, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of cosmological theories</span>

This timeline of cosmological theories and discoveries is a chronological record of the development of humanity's understanding of the cosmos over the last two-plus millennia. Modern cosmological ideas follow the development of the scientific discipline of physical cosmology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Sandage</span> American astronomer

Allan Rex Sandage was an American astronomer. He was Staff Member Emeritus with the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California. He determined the first reasonably accurate values for the Hubble constant and the age of the universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Age of the universe</span> Time elapsed since the Big Bang

In physical cosmology, the age of the universe is the time elapsed since the Big Bang. Astronomers have derived two different measurements of the age of the universe: a measurement based on direct observations of an early state of the universe, which indicate an age of 13.787±0.020 billion years as interpreted with the Lambda-CDM concordance model as of 2021; and a measurement based on the observations of the local, modern universe, which suggest a younger age. The uncertainty of the first kind of measurement has been narrowed down to 20 million years, based on a number of studies that all show similar figures for the age. These studies include researches of the microwave background radiation by the Planck spacecraft, the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and other space probes. Measurements of the cosmic background radiation give the cooling time of the universe since the Big Bang, and measurements of the expansion rate of the universe can be used to calculate its approximate age by extrapolating backwards in time. The range of the estimate is also within the range of the estimate for the oldest observed star in the universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmology</span> Scientific study of the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe

Cosmology is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term cosmology was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's Glossographia, and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher Christian Wolff in Cosmologia Generalis. Religious or mythological cosmology is a body of beliefs based on mythological, religious, and esoteric literature and traditions of creation myths and eschatology. In the science of astronomy, cosmology is concerned with the study of the chronology of the universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcelo Gleiser</span> Brazilian physicist and astronomer (born 1959)

Marcelo Gleiser is a Brazilian physicist and astronomer. He is a professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Livio</span> Romanian-born Israeli–American astrophysicist (born 1945)

Mario Livio is an astrophysicist and an author of works that popularize science and mathematics. For 24 years (1991–2015) he was an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which operates the Hubble Space Telescope. He has published more than 400 scientific articles on topics including cosmology, supernova explosions, black holes, extrasolar planets, and the emergence of life in the universe. His book on the irrational number phi, The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number (2002), won the Peano Prize and the International Pythagoras Prize for popular books on mathematics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avi Loeb</span> Israeli-American theoretical physicist

Abraham "Avi" Loeb is an Israeli-American theoretical physicist who works on astrophysics and cosmology. Loeb is the Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University, where since 2007 he has been Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Center for Astrophysics. He chaired the Department of Astronomy from 2011 to 2020, and founded the Black Hole Initiative in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubble volume</span> Region of the observable universe

In cosmology, a Hubble volume (named for the astronomer Edwin Hubble) or Hubble sphere, Hubble bubble, subluminal sphere, causal sphere and sphere of causality is a spherical region of the observable universe surrounding an observer beyond which objects recede from that observer at a rate greater than the speed of light due to the expansion of the universe. The Hubble volume is approximately equal to 1031 cubic light years (or about 1079 cubic meters).

In astronomy, galactocentrism is the theory that the Milky Way Galaxy, home of Earth's Solar System, is at or near the center of the Universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steady-state model</span> Model of the universe – alternative to the Big Bang model

In cosmology, the steady-state model or steady state theory is an alternative to the Big Bang theory. In the steady-state model, the density of matter in the expanding universe remains unchanged due to a continuous creation of matter, thus adhering to the perfect cosmological principle, a principle that says that the observable universe is always the same at any time and any place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the center of the Universe</span> Historical concept in cosmology

The center of the Universe is a concept that lacks a coherent definition in modern astronomy; according to standard cosmological theories on the shape of the universe, it has no distinct spatial center.

References

  1. ↑ "13.7: Cosmos And Culture". NPR . Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Hubble Fellowships: Listing of all Hubble Fellows 1990-2014". Space Telescope Science Institute. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  3. ↑ Simulating Magnetohydrodynamical Flow with Constrained Transport and Adaptive Mesh Refinement: Algorithms and Tests of the AstroBEAR Code
  4. ↑ Frank, Adam, 3 Theories That Might Blow Up The Big Bang , Discover
  5. ↑ Kolbert, Elizabeth; Folger, Tim, eds. (2009). The best American science and nature writing 2009 . Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   978-0547002590.
  6. ↑ "About '13.7: Cosmos And Culture'". NPR. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  7. ↑ Frank, Adam (27 September 2011). About Time . Simon and Schuster. ISBN   9781439169612.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Ross (17 June 2016). "Fancy Math Can't Make Aliens Real". The Atlantic. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
    - Frank, Adam (10 June 2016). "Yes, There Have Been Aliens". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Frank, Adam. Astronomy. W. W. Norton & Company. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  10. ↑ "Light of the Stars". W. W. Norton & Company. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  11. ↑ Orbiter magazine site
  12. ↑ "A New Home for 13.7 . . . Make That 13.8". Orbiter. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  13. ↑ Frank, Adam, I'm a Physicist Who Searches for Aliens. U.F.O.s Don't Impress Me. , the New York Times, May 30, 2021
  14. ↑ Frank, Adam; Gleiser, Marcelo (2 September 2023). "The Story of Our Universe May Be Starting to Unravel". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  15. ↑ "Award Abstract #9702484 CAREER: Understanding Stellar Overflows". National Science Foundation . Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  16. ↑ "Previous Winners of the SPD Popular Writing Awards". Solar Physics Division (SPD) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  17. ↑ Kolbert, Elizabeth; Folger, Tim, eds. (2009). The best American science and nature writing 2009 . Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   978-0547002590.
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