Research description for the general public. Flip to specialist version.  Or go watch a public talk I gave in Centennial Hall.

In 1915 Einstein revolutionized our conception of space, time and gravity with the publication of his general theory of relativity.  His elegant equations taught us that space and time are aspects of a single object called spacetime, whose curvature is gravity.
Gravity according to Einstein: matter curves spacetime, affecting paths of objects.

A hundred years later we still unraveling the incredible physics contained in these equations.  One of my main interests are black holes: regions where gravity is so intense that nothing--not even light--can escape.


  
Black holes have gravity so strong that nothing can escape.             Near an isolated black hole you would see, well, a black hole.  [link]

We are pretty sure that black holes exist all over the universe.  I study the physical processes that occur near black holes.  This helps answer some big questions,
  • How many black holes are out there?  How big are they, and how fast do they spin?
  • Are black holes the engines behind the huge jets of particles seen emerging from galaxies?  How do the jets form?
  • How can we measure unique, "smoking gun" signatures of black holes?
Of course, I don't spend my days directly tackling these big questions.  If I did, I'd either solve them (and become famous), or more likely just be stuck! Instead I work on a host of related problems designed to improve our understanding of the relevant physics.  I work on the equations governing the diffuse plasma often found nearby, on the binary black hole problem (two black holes orbiting each other), and on basic questions in the theory of general relativity.  You can get a sense of the details by reading the page written for specialists. 

I've focused on black holes here as they are definitely my personal favorites, but I work on a number of other topics as well.  In general, it is an exciting time for research on strong gravity.  A century after Einstein first wrote down the equations, observation has advanced to the point where we will soon be ARE NOW! directly measuring signals from regions of strong gravity.  Thus has motivated theorists such as myself to study Einstein's equations in ever-increasing detail, and the equations have continued to surprise and delight us with the rich physics within.