D. Mark Whittle, Professor

Curriculum Vitae

BA & MA in Physics:   Oxford University

Ph.D. in Astronomy:   Cambridge University

Postdocs:

NATO Fellowship:   Steward Observatory, Arizona

Research Fellowship:   Jesus College Cambridge

Presently:

Professor:   University of Virginia

PDF  and  Postscript  versions of my CV

Research Interests

Active galaxies

Normal galaxy dynamics

Star formation in galaxies

Galaxy Clusters

Big Bang Acoustics

Listen to the Big Bang !

This web material will improve over the next few weeks
Until then, follow my talk at the AAS meeting in Denver (6/1/04).
The talk contains sound (.wav) files and Quicktime movies (.mov).
Your computer must recognize these to play them.
Note also: small (laptop) computer speakers miss the deep tones.

Please use & download any part. All I ask is that if you use it publicly, please acknowledge its source, thank you.

1)   Brief summary:   pdf   postscript   ascii   (2 paragraphs)

2)   Press release:   pdf (70kb)   postscript (70kb)   ascii (22kb)
A 6 page description of the project in non-technical language.

3)   AAS presentation:  
    web / html web version; windows + explorer best, NOT netscape.
    pdf 6  (0.8Mb, 6 / page)   pdf 1 (2.1Mb, 1 / page)   color printout
    ppt (10.2Mb)   powerpoint, with sounds but no movies.

4)   Sounds & Movies for playing & downloading   Click Here

5)   UVa / NRAO colloquium:   powerpoint   (4.4Mb)
More technical talk to UVa / NRAO astronomy faculty (5/18/04)
sound/movies not included, but a wider range of topics discussed.

Other Public Outreach

1)   A Brief History of Matter
Recounts of the origin of atoms, from inside stars to you and me.
Includes deeper roots in the Big Bang, and further reflections.

html   web version, with figures.
postscript ,   PDF & ascii versions (text only, no figures).
First published as three articles in India's Akashmitra (2003/4)
Prize essay in Griffith Observer Science Writing Contest (2004)

2)   Nature's Design
Lecture in UVa's "Designing Matter" Course (04/04)
Aims to provide a "big picture" overview. Focuses on why Nature is so creative.

Powerpoint (8.7 MB, no movies or sounds)
PDF : Color (1/page)    Color (6/page)    B/W (6/page)
Related questions: postscript, PDF & ascii

Courses Recently Taught

Astronomy 121   Intro to the Sky and the Solar System

Astronomy 124   Intro to Stars, Galaxies and the Universe

Astronomy 130   Intro to Astronomical Observations

Astronomy 395   Astronomy Tutorial

Astronomy 498   Senior Thesis

Astronomy 836   Graduate Research Topics

Astronomy 553    Extragalactic Astronomy
(Extensive Lecture Notes and other resources)