Professor
James Burkett Hartle
University of California, Santa Barbara
Physicist; Educator
Area
Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Specialty
Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Earth Sciences
Elected
1989
He has been a member of the UCSB physics department since 1966. His scientific work is concerned with the application of Einstein's relativistic theory of gravity--general relativity--to realistic astrophysical situations, especially cosmology. He has contributed to the understanding of gravitational waves, relativistic stars, and black holes. He is currently interested in the quantum origin of the universe and the earliest moments of the big bang where the subjects of quantum mechanics, quantum gravity, and cosmology overlap. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a former Faculty Research Lecturer, and a past director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics.
Last Updated