Aside from my professional life as a teacher and researcher in Astrophysics and Plasma Physics, I enjoy cooking and playing the 'cello. I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 16, 1943, and lived there for 18 years; I received my B.A. in Physics from Williams College in 1965 and my Ph. D. in Astronomy from Harvard University in 1970. I was a postdoctoral Fellow at the Princeton University Observatory and the Institute for Advanced Study for 2 years before coming to Berkeley in 1972.
I am fascinated by the physics of compact astrophysical objects, especially neutron stars. I am intrigued by the bizarre behavior of fully ionized plasmas, which mix long range electromagnetic forces with kinetic particle behavior. I merge these interests by studying the magnetospheres of neutron stars and their interactions with their environs, and their role in the acceleration of the highest energy cosmic rays. I also have interests in the magnetized accretion disks around black holes, whose physics has similarities to that of the outflows from rotation powered pulsars.
Specialty Areas: Astrophysics, Black holes pulsars, Compact astrophysical objects, Cosmic rays, Ionized plasmas, Magnetic fields, Magnetized accretion disks, Neutron Stars, Planets.
