Robert Kraft (astronomer)
Robert Kraft | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 16, 1927 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | May 26, 2015 (aged 87) |
| Alma mater | University of Washington, University of California at Berkeley |
| Known for | Kraft break |
| Scientific career | |
| Doctoral advisor | George Herbig |
Robert Paul Kraft (June 16, 1927 – May 26, 2015) was an American astronomer.[1] He performed pioneering work on Cepheid variables, stellar rotation, novae, and the chemical evolution of the Milky Way. His name is also associated with the Kraft break: the abrupt change in the average rotation rate of main sequence stars around spectral type F8.[2]
Career
Kraft received his B.S. at the University of Washington in 1947, M.S. in mathematics at the University of Washington in 1949, and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.[3]
Kraft began working at University of California, Santa Cruz in 1967, where he served as director of the Lick Observatory from 1981–1991. During this time, he oversaw the observatory and university's involvement in the construction of the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. He also served as president of the American Astronomical Society (1974–1976) and president of the International Astronomical Union (1997–2000).[4]
From 1956 until about 1965, he focused his research efforts on cataclysmic variables (CVs). In particular, he discovered that all of these stars are binary systems containing a low-mass star and a white dwarf.[5]
Before his death in 2015, Kraft had focused his research on globular clusters and galactic halos, specifically differences between stars in the two regions.[6]
Honors
Awards
- Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy (1962)
- Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1995)
- Bruce Medal (2005)[7]
- National Academy of Sciences
Named after him
References
- ^ Daintith, John (2008-08-18). Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists (Third ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 9781420072723.
- ^ Kraft, R. P. (1967), "Studies of Stellar Rotation. V. The Dependence of Rotation on Age among Solar-Type Stars", Astrophysical Journal, 150: 551, Bibcode:1967ApJ...150..551K, doi:10.1086/149359
- ^ Kraft, Robert P. (2009). "An Astronomical Life Salted by Pure Chance". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 47 (1): 1–26. Bibcode:2009ARA&A..47....1K. doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-082708-101743.
- ^ "Robert P. Kraft, eminent astronomer and former director of UC Observatories, dies at age 87". UC Santa Cruz News.
- ^ Trimble, Virginia L. (December 2015). "Obituary: Robert P. Kraft (1927-2015)". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 47: 015.
- ^ "Robert P. Kraft: University Honors and Awards: Indiana University". University Honors & Awards. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
- ^ "The Bruce Medalists: Robert P. Kraft". Archived from the original on 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
Further reading
- Kraft, R. P. (2009). "An Astronomical Life Salted by Pure Chance". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 47 (1): 1–26. Bibcode:2009ARA&A..47....1K. doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-082708-101743.
External links
- Quotations related to Robert Kraft (astronomer) at Wikiquote
- Sandra Faber, "Robert P. Kraft", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2022)