Edmund Bertschinger (born 1958) is an American theoretical astrophysicist and cosmologist and professor of physics at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

.MIT Faculty Profile at http://web.mit.edu/physics/people/faculty/bertschinger_edmund.html

Career

Bertschinger received his bachelor's degree in physics from

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...

in 1979, and his Ph.D. degree in astrophysical science from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1984. He held postdoctoral positions at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

, then went to MIT as an assistant professor of physics in 1986 becoming a full professor in 1996. He served as head of the physics department from 2007 to 2013 and currently serves as the Institute Community and Equity Officer. He has served on various committees promoting women and minorities in astronomy and physics. He has received numerous fellowships and awards including the

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

and Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy. He was elected

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS) is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected ...

in 2015 and the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

in 1996.

Research

Bertschinger is known for his work on large-scale simulations of galaxy formation (

N-body simulation In physics and astronomy, an ''N''-body simulation is a simulation of a dynamical system of particles, usually under the influence of physical forces, such as gravity (see n-body problem, ''n''-body problem for other applications). ''N''-body ...

), the study of galaxy velocity fields (

Peculiar velocity Peculiar motion or peculiar velocity refers to the velocity of an object relative to a ''rest frame''—usually a frame in which the average velocity of some objects is zero. Galactic astronomy In galactic astronomy, peculiar motion refers to t ...

), and various problems in relativistic astrophysics. He has made substantial contributions to

cosmological perturbation theory In physical cosmology, cosmological perturbation theory is the theory by which the ''evolution of structure'' is understood in the Big Bang model. Cosmological perturbation theory may be broken into two categories: Newtonian or general relativist ...

and

structure formation In physical cosmology, structure formation describes the creation of galaxies, galaxy clusters, and larger structures starting from small fluctuations in mass density resulting from processes that created matter. The universe, as is now known from ...

in the universe.

Selected publications

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References

California Institute of Technology alumni Princeton University alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty American cosmologists American astrophysicists 1958 births Living people MIT Center for Theoretical Physics faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Physical Society {{US-physicist-stub