William M. Napier (born 29 June 1940 in Perth, Scotland) is the author of five

high tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest tec ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

novels and a number of nonfiction science books.

Career

He received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in 1963 and his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree in 1966, both from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. Napier is a professional astronomer who has worked at the

Royal Observatory in Edinburgh The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (ROE) is an astronomical institution located on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh. The site is owned by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The ROE comprises the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK&nbs ...

, the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

and

Armagh Observatory Armagh Observatory is an astronomical research institute in Armagh, Northern Ireland. Around 25 astronomers are based at the observatory, studying stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy and Earth's climate. In 2018, Armagh Obs ...

. He is currently an honorary professor of

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 investi ...

in the Center for Astrobiology at

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

, which describes him as "a leading figure in the dynamics and physics of comets, and a pioneer of the modern versions of

catastrophism In geology, catastrophism theorises that the Earth has largely been shaped by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope. This contrasts with uniformitarianism (sometimes called gradualism), according to which slow incrementa ...

." And honorary professor at the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology,

University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chanc ...

, which describes him as, "a pioneer of modern studies of the impact hazard due to asteroids and comets," and also as having, "carried out an investigation of long-running claims of anomalous QSO/galaxy associations." His research work focuses on

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma, and sometimes also a Comet ta ...

s and

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosophe ...

. The result of his collaboration with

Victor Clube Stace Victor Murray Clube (born 22 October 1934 in London) is an English astrophysicist. He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead and Christ Church, Oxford. in He played first-class cricket for Oxford University. He appeared seventeen ...

and others on the role of giant comets in Earth history is known as " coherent catastrophism." According to Napier, 13,000 years ago the earth was affected by a major, rapid cooling event that caused the extinction of a large number of species and a major disruption of paleoindian cultures. Previously thought to have been caused by an enormous asteroid crashing into the planet, Napier presented evidence that the cooling event was caused by the collision with "a dense trail of material from a large disintegrating comet." He is a member of the

Comet Research Group The Comet Research Group, Inc. (also known as the CRG) is non-profit organization whose members promote their research focused on cosmic impact events or meteor air bursts on Earth in the distant past, including events of biblical significance. A ...

, which raises money for, and conducts research in, this area.

Selected bibliography

Fiction

*''Nemesis'' (1998), a science-fiction thriller *''Revelation'' (2000) *''The Lure'' (2002) *''Shattered Icon'' (''Splintered Icon'' in the US) (2003) *''The Furies'' (2009) (

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

)

Nonfiction

*''The Cosmic Serpent'' (1982), with

*''The Cosmic Winter'' (1990), with Victor Clube *''The Origin of Comets'' (1990), with M. E. Bailey and Victor Clube

References

External links

Armagh Observatory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, William Living people 1940 births Catastrophism Scottish astronomers Scottish novelists

William William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...

Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academics of Cardiff University Astrobiologists Writers from Perth, Scotland