Stephen Erik Thorsett (born December 3, 1964) is an American academic and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

serving as the president of

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

. His research interests include radio pulsars and

gamma-ray burst In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are extremely energetic events occurring in distant Galaxy, galaxies which represent the brightest and most powerful class of explosion in the universe. These extreme Electromagnetic radiation, ele ...

s. He is known for measurements of the masses of

neutron star A neutron star is the gravitationally collapsed Stellar core, core of a massive supergiant star. It results from the supernova explosion of a stellar evolution#Massive star, massive star—combined with gravitational collapse—that compresses ...

s and for the use of binary pulsars to test the theory of

general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of grav ...

. Thorsett was a professor and dean at the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...

, before becoming president of

in July 2011.

Early life and education

Thorsett and his twin brother, David Thorsett, were born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, to Grant Thorsett and his wife, Karen. Stephen grew up in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

, where his father was a biology professor at Willamette University. After attending elementary school and junior high in Salem, he graduated from South Salem High School in 1983. During his youth, he earned money picking berries and with several jobs at Willamette. Following high school, he attended

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota and Rice County, Minnesota, Rice counties in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 U ...

, where he received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

in 1987, graduating ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

''. Thorsett then pursued graduate studies at

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 ...

, where he received a Ph.D. in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

in 1991 after completing a doctoral dissertation, titled "Observing millisecond and binary pulsars", under the supervision of Dan Stinebring and Joseph Taylor. With graduate school classmates Nathan Newbury, Michael J. Newman, John Ruhl, and Suzanne Staggs he is the author of the textbook ''Princeton Problems in Physics'' while at Princeton in 1991.Nathan Newbury, John Ruhl, Suzanne Staggs, Stephen Thorsett, and Michael Newman. (1991). ''Princeton Problems in Physics with Solutions'', Princeton University Press.

Career

After graduation from Princeton, he was a Robert A. Millikan Research Fellow in physics at

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 ...

and an assistant professor of physics at Princeton. He received the Ernest F. Fullam Award of the

Dudley Observatory Dudley Observatory is an astronomical education non-profit located since 2019 in Loudonville, New York and is the oldest non-academic institution of astronomical research in America. It was formerly located in Albany, New York (1856–1973) and Sch ...

in 1994, and was named an

Alfred P. Sloan Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. ( ; May 23, 1875February 17, 1966) was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a longtime president, chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation. First as a senior executive and later as ...

Fellow in 1997. In 1999, he was hired at the

as a professor of astronomy and

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

. Thorsett was named dean of the school's Division of Physical and Biological Sciences on July 1, 2006. In 2004, with collaborators Ingrid Stairs and Zaven Arzoumanian, he made the first measurement of gravitational spin-orbit coupling in a binary system. He helped discover the oldest known extrasolar planet and was the first to suggest that a nearby gamma-ray burst might cause a

mass extinction event An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction or biotic crisis) is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp fall in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms. It occ ...

. He is a co-editor of three volumes for the

Astronomical Society of the Pacific The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) is an American scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889, immediately following the solar eclipse of January 1, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on ...

.''Extreme Solar Systems'' (vol. 398, 2008), . He is also a collaborator on the upcoming Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array x-ray satellite experiment. On May 14, 2011, he was named as the 25th president of

. He assumed the position on July 1, 2011, replacing M. Lee Pelton who had resigned to take the presidency at another college.

References

External links

Web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorsett, Stephen 1964 births American astronomers Scientists from New Haven, Connecticut Living people Carleton College alumni Princeton University alumni Princeton University faculty Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford University of California, Santa Cruz faculty Presidents of Willamette University South Salem High School alumni