Henry Kandrup
Encyclopedia
Henry Emil Kandrup was an American astrophysicist and professor at the University of Florida, Gainesville. His major contributions were in the areas of galaxy dynamics
and plasma physics.
where his father had worked as a silver smith. He graduated from the Brooks Preparatory School in Andover, Massachusetts
at the age of 16, then enrolled at Cornell
, transferring to Princeton
the following year. He received his PhD in 1980 from the University of Chicago
where his thesis advisor was James Ipser. He taught at Oakland University
and Syracuse University
before coming to the University of Florida in 1990.
Already as a child, Kandrup was an accomplished musician, playing the organ, piano and French horn. He was also a passionate devotee of opera and ballet.
, chaos
, and plasma physics. Much of Kandrup's research was directed toward developing a more refined mathematical description of dynamical relaxation
in stellar systems. In a series of papers from the early 1990s, Henry developed the idea of chaotic phase mixing, the process by which an ensemble of points evolves toward a uniform coarse-grained population of phase space.
Among his other contributions were a demonstration of the equivalence of Landau damping
and phase mixing; a proof (with J. F. Sygnet) of the linear stability of a broad class of stellar systems; and a generalization of Jeans's theorem to non-integrable systems. At the time of his death, he was investigating the chaotic dynamics of charged particle beam
s, and the influence of binary supermassive black hole
s on the motion of stars in galaxies.
Kandrup organized more than a dozen workshops on nonlinear dynamics at the University of Florida.
Stellar dynamics
Stellar dynamics is the branch of astrophysics which describes in a statistical way the collective motions of stars subject to their mutual gravity. The long range of gravity and the slow "relaxation" of stellar systems prevent the use of the methods of statistical physics...
and plasma physics.
Early life and education
Kandrup was born in Manhasset, New York and spent most of his childhood in Great Neck. His parents, Jytte and Fred, were immigrants from DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
where his father had worked as a silver smith. He graduated from the Brooks Preparatory School in Andover, Massachusetts
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
at the age of 16, then enrolled at Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, transferring to Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
the following year. He received his PhD in 1980 from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
where his thesis advisor was James Ipser. He taught at Oakland University
Oakland University
Oakland University is a public university co-founded by Matilda Dodge Wilson and John A. Hannah whose campus is located in central Oakland County, Michigan, United States in the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills. It is the only major research university in Oakland County, from which OU...
and Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
before coming to the University of Florida in 1990.
Already as a child, Kandrup was an accomplished musician, playing the organ, piano and French horn. He was also a passionate devotee of opera and ballet.
Scientific contributions
Kandrup's work led to greater understanding in the fields of stellar dynamicsStellar dynamics
Stellar dynamics is the branch of astrophysics which describes in a statistical way the collective motions of stars subject to their mutual gravity. The long range of gravity and the slow "relaxation" of stellar systems prevent the use of the methods of statistical physics...
, chaos
Chaos theory
Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the...
, and plasma physics. Much of Kandrup's research was directed toward developing a more refined mathematical description of dynamical relaxation
Relaxation time
In the physical sciences, relaxation usually means the return of a perturbed system into equilibrium.Each relaxation process can be characterized by a relaxation time τ...
in stellar systems. In a series of papers from the early 1990s, Henry developed the idea of chaotic phase mixing, the process by which an ensemble of points evolves toward a uniform coarse-grained population of phase space.
Among his other contributions were a demonstration of the equivalence of Landau damping
Landau damping
In physics, Landau damping, named after its discoverer, the eminent Soviet physicist Lev Davidovich Landau, is the effect of damping of longitudinal space charge waves in plasma or a similar environment. This phenomenon prevents an instability from developing, and creates a region of stability in...
and phase mixing; a proof (with J. F. Sygnet) of the linear stability of a broad class of stellar systems; and a generalization of Jeans's theorem to non-integrable systems. At the time of his death, he was investigating the chaotic dynamics of charged particle beam
Charged particle beam
A charged particle beam is a spatially localized group of electrically charged particles that have approximately the same velocity . The kinetic energies of the particles are typically measured in keV or MeV, much larger than the energies of particles at ambient temperature...
s, and the influence of binary supermassive black hole
Supermassive black hole
A supermassive black hole is the largest type of black hole in a galaxy, in the order of hundreds of thousands to billions of solar masses. Most, and possibly all galaxies, including the Milky Way, are believed to contain supermassive black holes at their centers.Supermassive black holes have...
s on the motion of stars in galaxies.
Kandrup organized more than a dozen workshops on nonlinear dynamics at the University of Florida.
External links
- H. C. Smith, Henry Emil Kandrup
- D. MerrittDavid MerrittDavid Merritt is an American astrophysicist and professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. He received his PhD in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University and held postdoctoral positions at the University of California, Berkeley and the Canadian Institute...
(2005), Henry Kandrup's Ideas About Relaxation of Stellar Systems