Geoffrey Burbidge
Geoffrey Burbidge La Jolla, California , U.S. | |
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Alma mater | |
Spouse | |
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Scientific career | |
Fields | Theoretical astrophysics |
Thesis | The interaction between mesons and light atoms (1951) |
Doctoral advisor | H.S.W. Massey |
Website | casswww |
Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge
Early life and education
Burbidge was born in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, a small market town in the Cotswolds, where he attended grammar school. His father, also Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge, was a builder.[3]
He first attended the University of Bristol to study history, but changed to physics, receiving his degree in 1946. In 1947, he went to London and received his PhD from University College London (UCL) in 1950.[4] While at UCL he worked with Professor H. S. W. Massey who was then head of the department of mathematics.[5]
Career and research
With his wife Margaret Burbidge he worked at Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Cambridge, before Margaret obtained work at the California Institute of Technology, while Geoffrey worked at the Mount Wilson Observatory and Palomar Observatory. They both obtained positions at the University of California, San Diego, in 1962.[4] He was the Director of Kitt Peak National Observatory from 1978 to 1984.[6] He was the Editor of the Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics from 1974 to 2004.[7][8]
B2FH
In collaboration with American physicist William Fowler and British astronomer Fred Hoyle, he and his wife were co-authors of Synthesis of the Elements in Stars, a fundamental paper on stellar nucleosynthesis published in 1957. It is commonly referred to as the B2FH paper after the initial letters of the four authors' surnames. The paper describes the process of stars burning lighter elements into successively heavier atoms which then are expelled to form other structures in the universe, including other stars and planets.[6]
Alternative cosmology
In his late years, Burbidge was known mostly for his
Awards and honours
- Warner Prize, with his wife (1959)[10]
- Fellow of the American Physical Society (1988) [11]
- Bruce Medal (1999)[12]
- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, with his wife (2005)
- The 11753 Geoffburbidgeis named after him
Personal life
He met Margaret Peachey and they married in 1948.[6]
Burbidge died on 26 January 2010 in
References
- ISSN 0080-4606.
- ^ "Geoffrey Burbidge personal page". ucsd.edu.
- ^ "Geoffrey Burbidge". The Telegraph - Obituaries. Telegraph Media Group. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/102557. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISSN 0066-4146.
- ^ New York Times.
- . Retrieved 28 July 2021.
- ISSN 0066-4146.
- ^ Richard Panek (22 November 2005). "Two Against the Big Bang". Discover magazine.
- ^ "Grants, Prizes, and Awards". American Astronomical Society. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010.
- ^ "APS Fellow Archive". APS. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ "The Bruce Medallists: Geoffrey Burbidge". Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ "NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ^ "Academy honors 18 for major contributions to science". 17 January 2007.
- ^ Childs, Martin (24 April 2010). "Geoffrey Burbidge: Astrophysicist notorious for his rejection of the Big Bang theory". The Independent. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
External links
- Bruce Medal page
- Oral History interview transcript with Geoffrey Burbidge on 15 November 1974, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- Oral History interview transcript with Geoffrey Burbidge on 4 June 1975, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- Oral History interview transcript with Geoffrey Burbidge on 21 October 1977, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- Los Angeles Times obituary
- Geoffrey Burbidge - Daily Telegraph obituary