Saul Arno Teukolsky (born August 2, 1947) is a theoretical
astrophysicist and a professor of
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 re ...
and
Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, gala ...
at
Caltech
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
and
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teac ...
. His major research interests include general relativity, relativistic astrophysics, and computational astrophysics.
Biography
After matriculating from
Selborne College (East London, South Africa) in 1964, Teukolsky received a
Bachelor of Science in Honors Physics and Honors Applied Mathematics from the
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
in 1970. He went on to be a graduate student under
Kip Thorne at
Caltech
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
where he received his
Ph.D. in 1973. He joined
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teac ...
as an Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy in 1974 after serving as the Richard Chace Tolman Research Fellow for one year at
Caltech
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1977 and Full Professor in 1983. In 1999 he was named the
Hans A. Bethe professor of physics and astrophysics, a position which he still holds. In 2017 he was also appointed as Robinson Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at
Caltech
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
.
Teukolsky is one of the pioneers of
numerical relativity
Numerical relativity is one of the branches of general relativity that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems. To this end, supercomputers are often employed to study black holes, gravitational waves, neutron stars and ...
: the subject that deals with equations involving
general relativity
General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physic ...
using supercomputers. He is a coauthor of the
Numerical Recipes series of books on scientific computing. Today his research group works on numerical relativity calculations to predict signals from the
LIGO
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory designed to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool. Two large o ...
and
LISA experiments.
Awards
* Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 1973
* John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, 1981
* Forefronts of Large-Scale Computing Award, 1990
* Fellow of the American Physical Society, 1994
* Fellow of the American Astronomical Society.
* Member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1996
* Member of National Academy of Sciences, 2003
*
Dirac Medal
The Dirac Medal is the name of four awards in the field of theoretical physics, computational chemistry, and mathematics, awarded by different organizations, named in honour of Professor Paul Dirac, one of the great theoretical physicists of the 20 ...
of the ICTP, 2021
*
Einstein prize of APS (joint with
Clifford Will), 2021.
References
External links
Astronomy Homepage at Cornell Univ.Physics Homepage at Cornell Univ.
Living people
1947 births
21st-century American physicists
American relativity theorists
Cornell University faculty
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
20th-century South African physicists
Alumni of Selborne College
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