Eric J. Chaisson (pronounced ''chase-on'', born on October 26, 1946 in
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as ...
) is an American
astrophysicist known for his research, teaching, and writing on the interdisciplinary science of
cosmic evolution
The chronology of the universe describes the history and future of the universe according to Big Bang cosmology.
Research published in 2015 estimates the earliest stages of the universe's existence as taking place 13.8 billion years ago, with ...
. He is a member of the
Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, teaches natural science at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
and is an elected Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
.
He has published telescopic observations of
interstellar clouds
An interstellar cloud is generally an accumulation of gas, plasma, and dust in our and other galaxies. Put differently, an interstellar cloud is a denser-than-average region of the interstellar medium, the matter and radiation that exists in the ...
and
nebulae as well as the supermassive
black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can def ...
at the center of the
Milky Way Galaxy
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...
. He studies
complexity science utilizing the technical concept of
energy rate density, quantifies waste heating effects on
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
, explores
astrobiology
Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that invest ...
and life in the Universe, seeks to unify natural science and works to improve
science education
Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), som ...
nationally and internationally.
Biography
Chaisson graduated in physics from
University of Massachusetts Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public ...
in 1968 and earned his PhD at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1972. He has held professorial appointments at the
Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian,
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
,
Space Telescope Science Institute
The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), science operations and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and science operations center for the ...
, and
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
, where he was for 20 years director of the Wright Center for Science Education while holding research professorships in the department of physics and in the school of education. He is now back at the
Harvard College Observatory
The Harvard College Observatory (HCO) is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomical research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United St ...
where, in semi-retirement, he teaches one course each year and works with colleagues at the allied
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution, concentrating on astrophysical studies including galactic and extragalactic astronomy, cosmology, solar, earth and planetary sciences, the ...
.
He was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Air Force at
Lackland Air Force Base
Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of the city of S ...
in 1970, serving on active duty and in the reserves until 1986, after which he was honorably discharged at the rank of captain. He took leave from academia in 1986 at
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and dev ...
as staff physicist working on ballistic missile defense amidst occasional consulting and advising for many years with the military-intelligence community. He spent sabbaticals in 1996 as visiting scholar and national lecturer for
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
and in 2018 working on solar energy as visiting professor at
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...
and Distinguished Fellow at its Institute for Advanced Study.
Awards
Chaisson’s research and writing have won several awards, such as the 1977 B.J. Bok Prize
for “original radio-astronomy discoveries,” the 1980 Smith-Weld Prize for “best article by a Harvard faculty member,” a certificate of recognition from
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
with U.S. flag flown aboard the STS-31 mission for “contributions made to the
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most vers ...
program,” as well as unsought fellowships from the
Sloan Foundation
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is an American philanthropic nonprofit organization. It was established in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan Jr., then-president and chief executive officer of General Motors.
The Sloan Foundation makes grants to suppor ...
and the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
.
His book ''Cosmic Dawn'' in 1982 received the
Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, the
Science Writing Award of the
American Institute of Physics
The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...
and was a finalist for the
National Book Award for Nonfiction
The National Book Award for Nonfiction is one of five U.S. annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by U.S. citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers". The panelists ...
. ''The Hubble Wars'' in 1995 also won the AIP’s
Science Writing Award and was listed in the "best books of the year" category by the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
. ''Epic of Evolution'' won the 2007 Kistler Book Award
Foundation for the Future, 2007 “for “increasing understanding of factors shaping the future of humanity.” And the textbook, ''Astronomy: The Universe at a Glance'', won the Most Innovative New Textbook award in 2016 from the Textbook Authors Association.
Bibliography
* ''Cosmic Dawn: The Origins of Matter and Life'' (in 9 foreign languages), Atlantic Monthly Press, 1981
* ''The Invisible Universe: Probing Frontiers of Astrophysics'' (co-authored with G. Field; in 4 languages), Birkhauser-Boston, 1985
* ''The Life Era: Cosmic Selection and Conscious Evolution'', Atlantic Monthly Press, 1987
* ''Relatively Speaking: Black Holes, Relativity, and Fate of the Universe'' (in five languages), Norton, 1988
* ''Universe: An Evolutionary Approach to Astronomy'', Prentice-Hall, 1988
* ''Astronomy Today'' (co-authored with S. McMillan), Pearson, 9 editions, 1993-2018
* ''Astronomy: A Beginner’s Guide'', (co-authored with S. McMillan), Pearson, 8 editions, 1995-2017
* ''The Hubble Wars: Astrophysics Meets Astropolitics . . .'', HarperCollins, 1994
* ''The 13th Labor: Improving Science Education'' (co-edited with T-C. Kim), Gordon&Breach, 1999
* ''Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in Nature'', Harvard University Press, 2001
* ''Epic of Evolution: Seven Ages of the Cosmos'' (in 7 languages), Columbia University Press, 2006
* ''Astronomy: The Universe at a Glance'' (co-authored with S. McMillan), Pearson, 2016
See also
*
Big History
*
Epic of Evolution
References
External links
Eric Chaisson's curriculum vitaeEric Chaisson's web site(containing text, images, animations, movies, and hyperlinked references of interest to both non-scientists and professional scientists ).
* A 60-minute video interview with PBS-Science for the Public 2014
WGBH Forum* Representative samples of recent research articles
Current Research* Syllabus of annual course at Harvard
Current Teaching
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaisson, Eric
American astrophysicists
American educators
Harvard University alumni
Living people
American science writers
Harvard College Observatory people
1946 births
People from Lowell, Massachusetts
Tufts University faculty