Bradley C. Edwards is an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

who has been involved in the development of the

space elevator A space elevator, also referred to as a space bridge, star ladder, and orbital lift, is a proposed type of planet-to-space transportation system, often depicted in science fiction. The main component would be a cable (also called a space tethe ...

concept.

Biography

Dr Edwards received his

PhD degree A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

in 1990. His thesis work was in astrophysics on the soft

x-ray background The observed X-ray background is thought to result from, at the "soft" end (below 0.3 keV), galactic X-ray emission, the "galactic" X-ray background, and, at the "hard" end (above 0.3keV), from a combination of many unresolved X-ray sources outside ...

. During his graduate work he worked on x-ray micro

calorimeter A calorimeter is an object used for calorimetry, or the process of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity. Differential scanning calorimeters, isothermal micro calorimeters, titration calorimete ...

s and several sounding rocket and Shuttle payloads. After receiving his PhD, Dr Edwards was hired as a staff scientist at

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...

where he was co-investigator on the

ALEXIS Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946–1977 ...

satellite, developed superconducting

tunnel junction In electronics/spintronics, a tunnel junction is a barrier, such as a thin insulating layer or electric potential, between two electrically conducting materials. Electrons (or quasiparticles) pass through the barrier by the process of quantum tunn ...

detectors, a

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

orbiter, a Mars mission, a

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

orbiter and the world's first optical

cryocooler A refrigerator designed to reach cryogenic temperatures (below ) is often called a cryocooler. The term is most often used for smaller systems, typically table-top size, with input powers less than about 20 kW. Some can have input powers as l ...

. In 1998, Dr Edwards began working on the space elevator concept. Edwards received funding from the

NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts The NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) is a NASA program for development of far reaching, long term advanced concepts by "creating breakthroughs, radically better or entirely new aerospace concepts". The program operated under the name ...

to examine the idea and published two papers in 2000 and 2003. He proposed methods for deploying a space elevator and overcoming perceived obstacles such as orbital debris, anchoring, climber design, and power delivery and examined construction costs and scheduling, laying the groundwork for current discussions. Edwards also published two books on the subject, ''The Space Elevator: A Revolutionary Earth-to-Space Transportation'' in 2003 and ''Leaving the Planet by Space Elevator'' in 2006 which gained coverage on major news media. In interviews, Edwards has estimated that price per pound of launching into low Earth orbit could be reduced to 100th the cost of Shuttle missions. Edwards spent eleven years working at the

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, researching advanced space technologies. He attempted a number of ventures associated with the space elevator concept and spent six years as a senior engineer at Sea-Bird Electronics, an oceanographic company. He has recently started a new company to develop carbon nanotube technology.

Books

*''The

Space Elevator A space elevator, also referred to as a space bridge, star ladder, and orbital lift, is a proposed type of planet-to-space transportation system, often depicted in science fiction. The main component would be a cable (also called a space tethe ...

: A Revolutionary Earth-to-Space Transportation System'', by Bradley C. Edwards and Eric A. Westling (November 2003) *''Leaving the Planet by Space Elevator'', by Bradley C. Edwards and Philip Ragan (October 2006)

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni 21st-century American engineers Space scientists American astrophysicists {{US-physicist-stub