John Craig Wheeler (born 1943) is an American astronomer. He is the Samuel T. and Fern Yanagisawa Regents Professor of Astronomy Emeritus at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. He is known for his theoretical work on

supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

e. He is a past president of the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

, a Fellow of that society, and a

Fellow of the American Physical Society The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of fellows of the ...

Early life and education

Wheeler graduated from the

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

in 1965 with a BS in physics. He was awarded his PhD in physics in 1969 from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

. He then held a

postdoctoral fellowship A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

at the

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

until 1971.

Career

In 1971 Wheeler became an assistant professor in the Department of Astronomy at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. In 1974 he joined the Department of Astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin. He became the Samuel T. and Fern Yanagisawa Regents Professor of Astronomy in 1985. Wheeler served as the President of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) from 2006 to 2008. He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2007. In 2008, he became a Legacy Fellow of the AAS. Based on the "Astronomy Bizarre" course he taught for non-majors, Wheeler published ''Cosmic Catastrophes: Supernovae, Gamma-ray Bursts, and Adventures in Hyperspace'' in 2000. The second edition, ''Cosmic Catastrophes: Exploding Stars, Black Holes, and Mapping the Universe'', was published in 2007. In 2019 he and David Branch received the Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award for their textbook ''Supernova Explosions''.

Awards and honors

* 2007 Fellow of the American Physical Society * 2008 Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society * 2019 Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award

Selected publications

Articles

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Books

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Science fiction