Bruce Elmegreen

Last updated
Bruce Gordon Elmegreen
Born (1950-02-24) February 24, 1950 (age 73)
NationalityAmerican
Citizenship United States
Education University of Wisconsin–Madison (1971, BS)
Princeton University (1975, PhD)
Spouse Debra Elmegreen
Awards Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics (2001)
Catherine Wolfe Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (2021)
Scientific career
Fields Astrophysics
Institutions Harvard University (1975-1978)
Columbia University (1978-1984)
IBM (1984-present)
Academic advisors Lyman Spitzer

Bruce Gordon Elmegreen (born 24 February 1950) is an American astronomer. [1] [2]

Contents

Life

Elmegreen was born in Milwaukee, and received his bachelor's degree in 1971 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and his PhD in 1975 from Princeton University in astrophysics under Lyman Spitzer. From 1975 to 1978 he was a Junior Fellow at Harvard University. From 1978 to 1984 he was an assistant professor at Columbia University. Beginning in 1984 he has been employed at IBM doing research at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center. [3]

His research deals with interstellar gas with a focus on star formation in gaseous nebulae and large-scale structure of spiral galaxies. Using computer model simulations, he proved the existence of standing waves in spiral galaxies.

Since 1976 he has been married to the astronomer Debra Meloy Elmegreen (born 1952), who is a professor at Vassar College. In 2013, they authored a paper together, "The Onset of Spiral Structure in the Universe", published in the Astrophysical Journal . [4]

Honors and awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irregular galaxy</span> Class of galaxy

An irregular galaxy is a galaxy that does not have a distinct regular shape, unlike a spiral or an elliptical galaxy. Irregular galaxies do not fall into any of the regular classes of the Hubble sequence, and they are often chaotic in appearance, with neither a nuclear bulge nor any trace of spiral arm structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Astronomical Society</span> Society of professional astronomers based in Washington, DC

The American Astronomical Society is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the advancement of astronomy and closely related branches of science, while the secondary purpose includes enhancing astronomy education and providing a political voice for its members through lobbying and grassroots activities. Its current mission is to enhance and share humanity's scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Louise Trimble</span> American astronomer

Virginia Louise Trimble is an American astronomer specializing in the structure and evolution of stars and galaxies, and the history of astronomy. She has published more than 600 works in Astrophysics, and dozens of other works in the history of other sciences. She is famous for an annual review of astronomy and astrophysics research that was published in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and often gives summary reviews at astrophysical conferences. In 2018, she was elected a Patron of the American Astronomical Society, for her many years of intellectual, organizational, and financial contributions to the society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barred spiral galaxy</span> Spiral galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars

A barred spiral galaxy is a spiral galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars. Bars are found in about two thirds of all spiral galaxies, and generally affect both the motions of stars and interstellar gas within spiral galaxies and can affect spiral arms as well. The Milky Way Galaxy, where the Solar System is located, is classified as a barred spiral galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Shu</span> American astrophysicist, astronomer and author (1943–2023)

Frank Hsia-San Shu was a Chinese-American astrophysicist, astronomer, and author. He served as a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, San Diego. He is best known for proposing the density wave theory to explain the structure of spiral galaxies, and for describing a model of star formation, where a giant dense molecular cloud collapses to form a star.

John Peter Huchra was an American astronomer and professor. He was the Vice Provost for Research Policy at Harvard University and a Professor of Astronomy at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. He was also a former chair of the United States National Committee for the International Astronomical Union. and past president of the American Astronomical Society.

Robert Charles Kennicutt, Jr. FRS is an American astronomer. He is currently a professor at Texas A&M University. He is a former Plumian Professor of Astronomy at the Institute of Astronomy in the University of Cambridge. He was formerly Editor-in-Chief of the Astrophysical Journal (1999–2006) and became a co-editor of the Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics as of 2021. His research interests include the structure and evolution of galaxies and star formation in galaxies.

Scott Duncan Tremaine is a Canadian-born astrophysicist. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of London, the Royal Society of Canada and the National Academy of Sciences. Tremaine is widely regarded as one of the world's leading astrophysicists for his contributions to the theory of Solar System and galactic dynamics. Tremaine is the namesake of asteroid 3806 Tremaine. He is credited with coining the name "Kuiper belt".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Freeman (astronomer)</span> Australian astronomer and astrophysicist

Kenneth Charles Freeman is an Australian astronomer and astrophysicist who is currently Duffield Professor of Astronomy in the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Mount Stromlo Observatory of the Australian National University in Canberra. He was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1940, studied mathematics and physics at the University of Western Australia, and graduated with first class honours in applied mathematics in 1962. He then went to Cambridge University for postgraduate work in theoretical astrophysics with Leon Mestel and Donald Lynden-Bell, and completed his doctorate in 1965. Following a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Texas with Gérard de Vaucouleurs, and a research fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge, he returned to Australia in 1967 as a Queen Elizabeth Fellow at Mount Stromlo. Apart from a year in the Kapteyn Institute in Groningen in 1976 and some occasional absences overseas, he has been at Mount Stromlo ever since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4323</span> Lenticular galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4323 is a lenticular or dwarf elliptical galaxy located about 52.5 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. The galaxy was discovered in 1882 by astronomer Wilhelm Tempel and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha P. Haynes</span> American astronomer

Martha Patricia Haynes is an American astronomer who specializes in radio astronomy and extragalactic astronomy. She is the distinguished professor of arts and sciences in astronomy at Cornell University. She has been on a number of high-level committees within the US and International Astronomical Community, including advisory committee for the Division of Engineering and Physical Sciences of the National Academies (2003–2008) and Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Review. She was a vice-president of the executive committee of the International Astronomical Union from 2006–2012, and was on the board of trustees of Associated Universities Inc from 1994 until 2016, serving two terms as board chair and one year as interim president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debra Elmegreen</span> American astronomer

Debra Meloy Elmegreen is an American astronomer. She was the first woman to graduate from Princeton University with a degree in astrophysics, and she was the first female post-doctoral researcher at the Carnegie Observatories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4689</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4689 is a spiral galaxy located about 54 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. NGC 4689 is also classified as a LINER galaxy. NGC 4689 is inclined at an angle of about 36° which means that the galaxy is seen almost face-on to the Earth's line of sight. NGC 4689 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784. The galaxy is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4294</span> Flocculent barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4294 is a barred spiral galaxy with flocculent spiral arms located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on March 15, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4298</span> Flocculent spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4298 is a flocculent spiral galaxy located about 53 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4299</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4299 is a featureless spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on March 15, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

Deidre A. Hunter is an American astronomer at Lowell Observatory. Her primary research area is tiny irregular galaxies — their origins, evolution and star production, and the shapes that are formed. She uses many parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and includes spectroscopy in her approach.

Linda Siobhan Sparke is a British astronomer known for her research on the structure and dynamics of galaxies. She is a professor emerita of astronomy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Explorers Program Scientist in the NASA Astrophysics Division.

Barbara Sue Ryden is an American astrophysicist who is a Professor of Astronomy at Ohio State University. Her research considers the formation, shape and structure of galaxies. She was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4393</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation of Coma Berenices

NGC 4393 is a spiral galaxy about 46 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 11, 1785. It is a member of the NGC 4274 Group, which is part of the Coma I Group or Cloud.

References

  1. biographical information from American Men and Women of Science, Thomson Gale 2004
  2. 1 2 "28364 Bruceelmegreen". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  3. Elmegreen CV, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias - IAC - General Information
  4. Elmegreen, Debra Meloy; Elmegreen, Bruce G. (January 20, 2014). "The Onset of Spiral Structure in the Universe". The Astrophysical Journal. 781 (11): 11. arXiv: 1312.2215 . Bibcode:2014ApJ...781...11E. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/781/1/11.
  5. "AAS Fellows". American Astronomical Society – AAS. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  6. "ASP Bruce Medal" . Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  7. "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021. (Bulletin #10)