Simon White
Encyclopedia
Professor Simon David Manton White, FRS (born 30 September 1951, in Ashford
, Kent) is a British astrophysicist. He is one of four directors at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
.
at Jesus College, Cambridge
in the University of Cambridge (B.A. 1972) and Astronomy
at the University of Toronto
(M.Sc. 1974). In 1977 he obtained a doctorate in Astronomy under Donald Lynden-Bell
entitled "The Clustering of Galaxies“ at the University of Cambridge
. After a few years at the University of California, Berkeley
, the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona
and
the University of Cambridge he was appointed in 1994 as a Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society
and as Director of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
in Garching
. White is also Research Professor at the University of Arizona
(1992), Guest Professor at the University of Durham (1995) Honorary Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich (1994) and at the Astronomical Observatories of Shanghai (1999) and Beijing (2001). White lives in
Munich with his wife, the astrophysicist Guinevere Kauffmann
, and their son Jonathan.
to our understanding of galaxy formation and for his role in helping to establish the viability of the
current standard model for the evolution of cosmic structure, the so-called ΛCDM model.
Already at the time of his doctoral work he studied the influence of Dark Matter
on the growth of structure and in 1978 he and Martin Rees argued that the properties of galaxies can be understood if they
form by condensation of gas at the centres of extended dark matter halos.
In later years White developed computer models which allowed the growth of galaxies and galaxy clustering to
be simulated directly in order to allow quantitative comparison of theoretical models with astronomical
observations. His work with Marc Davis, George Efstathiou
and Carlos Frenk
was particularly
influential in establishing that a universe dominated by Cold Dark Matter could produce large-scale structure
in the galaxy distribution which closely resembles that observed. A recent large project has
been the Millennium Simulation
, carried out in Garching as part of the work of a large international
collaboration, the Virgo Consortium. This simulation followed the formation of more than 2,000,000
galaxies throughout a cubic region more than 2 billion light-years on a side.
Further highly cited work by White has addressed issues of stellar dynamics, of the detailed structure
of galaxies and their dark halos, of the processes controlling galaxy formation, of the structure and evolution of galaxy clusters, and of the statistics of galaxy clustering. Particularly influential papers were
those with Julio Navarro and Carlos Frenk
on the "universal" structure of dark matter halos.
White is currently one of the most highly cited of all astrophysicists. His more than 300 publications in the refereed professional literature have been cited more than 50,000 times by other scientists (status mid-2010).
Ashford, Kent
Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
, Kent) is a British astrophysicist. He is one of four directors at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
The Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics is a Max Planck Institute, located in Garching, near Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It was founded as Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in 1958 and split up into the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and the Max Planck Institute for Physics...
.
Life
White studied MathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
in the University of Cambridge (B.A. 1972) and Astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
(M.Sc. 1974). In 1977 he obtained a doctorate in Astronomy under Donald Lynden-Bell
Donald Lynden-Bell
Donald Lynden-Bell CBE FRS is an English astrophysicist, best known for his theories that galaxies contain massive black holes at their centre, and that such black holes are the principal source of energy in quasars. He was a co-recipient, with Maarten Schmidt, of the inaugural Kavli Prize for...
entitled "The Clustering of Galaxies“ at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. After a few years at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
and
the University of Cambridge he was appointed in 1994 as a Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes publicly funded by the federal and the 16 state governments of Germany....
and as Director of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
The Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics is a Max Planck Institute, located in Garching, near Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It was founded as Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in 1958 and split up into the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and the Max Planck Institute for Physics...
in Garching
Garching bei München
Garching bei München or Garching is a city in Bavaria, Germany near Munich. It is the home of several research institutes and university departments. It became a city on 14 September 1990.-Location:...
. White is also Research Professor at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
(1992), Guest Professor at the University of Durham (1995) Honorary Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich (1994) and at the Astronomical Observatories of Shanghai (1999) and Beijing (2001). White lives in
Munich with his wife, the astrophysicist Guinevere Kauffmann
Guinevere Kauffmann
Guinevere Alice Mei-Ing Kauffmann is an American astrophysicist.She studied astronomy at the University of Cape Town until 1990. She finished her Ph.D at the University of Cambridge in 1993....
, and their son Jonathan.
Work
White has worked primarily on the formation of structure in the Universe. He is known for his contributionsto our understanding of galaxy formation and for his role in helping to establish the viability of the
current standard model for the evolution of cosmic structure, the so-called ΛCDM model.
Already at the time of his doctoral work he studied the influence of Dark Matter
Dark matter
In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...
on the growth of structure and in 1978 he and Martin Rees argued that the properties of galaxies can be understood if they
form by condensation of gas at the centres of extended dark matter halos.
In later years White developed computer models which allowed the growth of galaxies and galaxy clustering to
be simulated directly in order to allow quantitative comparison of theoretical models with astronomical
observations. His work with Marc Davis, George Efstathiou
George Efstathiou
George Petros Efstathiou FRS is a British astrophysicist who is Professor of Astrophysics and Director of the Kavli Institute of Cosmology at the University of Cambridge...
and Carlos Frenk
Carlos Frenk
Professor Carlos Silvestre Frenk is a Mexican-British cosmologist. His main interests lie in the field of cosmology, galaxy formation and computer simulations of cosmic structure formation....
was particularly
influential in establishing that a universe dominated by Cold Dark Matter could produce large-scale structure
in the galaxy distribution which closely resembles that observed. A recent large project has
been the Millennium Simulation
Millennium simulation
The Millennium Run, or Millennium Simulation referring to its size, was a computer N-body simulation used to investigate how matter in the Universe evolved over time...
, carried out in Garching as part of the work of a large international
collaboration, the Virgo Consortium. This simulation followed the formation of more than 2,000,000
galaxies throughout a cubic region more than 2 billion light-years on a side.
Further highly cited work by White has addressed issues of stellar dynamics, of the detailed structure
of galaxies and their dark halos, of the processes controlling galaxy formation, of the structure and evolution of galaxy clusters, and of the statistics of galaxy clustering. Particularly influential papers were
those with Julio Navarro and Carlos Frenk
Carlos Frenk
Professor Carlos Silvestre Frenk is a Mexican-British cosmologist. His main interests lie in the field of cosmology, galaxy formation and computer simulations of cosmic structure formation....
on the "universal" structure of dark matter halos.
White is currently one of the most highly cited of all astrophysicists. His more than 300 publications in the refereed professional literature have been cited more than 50,000 times by other scientists (status mid-2010).
Awards and honours
- Helen B. Warner Prize of the American Astronomical Society, 1986
- Fellow of the Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, 1997 - Max-Planck Research Prize for International Cooperation, 2000
- Dannie Heineman Prize for AstrophysicsDannie Heineman Prize for AstrophysicsThe Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics is jointly awarded each year by the American Astronomical Society and American Institute of Physics for outstanding work in astrophysics. It is funded by the Heineman Foundation in honour of Dannie Heineman....
of the AIP/AAS, 2005 - Fellow of the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina, 2005
- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical SocietyGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society-History:In the early years, more than one medal was often awarded in a year, but by 1833 only one medal was being awarded per year. This caused a problem when Neptune was discovered in 1846, because many felt an award should jointly be made to John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier...
, 2006 - Honorary Doctorate (D.Sc.) at the University of Durham, 2007
- Foreign Associate, US National Academy of Sciences, 2007
- Brouwer Award (Division on Dynamical Astronomy)Brouwer Award (Division on Dynamical Astronomy)The Dirk Brouwer Award, usually known as the Brouwer Award, is awarded annually by the Division on Dynamical Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society for outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of dynamical astronomy...
of the American Astronomical Society, 2008 - European Latsis PrizeEuropean Latsis PrizeThe European Latsis Prize is awarded annually by the European Science Foundation for "outstanding and innovative contributions in a selected field of European research". The prize is worth 100,000 Swiss francs and is awarded within a different discipline each year...
2008: Astrophysics - Fellow of the Academia EuropaeaAcademia EuropaeaAcademia Europæa is a European non-governmental scientific academy founded in 1988. Its members are scientists and scholars who collectively aim to promote learning, education and research. It publishes European Review through Cambridge Journals....
- Max Born PrizeMax Born prizeThe Max Born Prize is a scientific prize awarded yearly by the German Physical Society and the British Institute of Physics in memory of the German physicist Max Born. The terms of the award are that it is "to be presented for outstanding contributions to physics"...
of the German Physical Society and the Institute of Physics, 2010 - Honorary Citizen of the City of Padova, 2010
- Gruber Prize in CosmologyGruber Prize in CosmologyThe Gruber Prize in Cosmology is one of five international awards made by The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation, an American non-profit organization based in the U.S. Virgin Islands with offices in New York City...
2011