Robert Paul Kraft (June 16, 1927 – May 26, 2015) was an American astronomer.[1] He performed pioneering work on Cepheid variables, stellar rotation, novae, and the chemical evolution of the Milky Way. His name is also associated with the Kraft break: the abrupt change in the average rotation rate of main sequence stars around spectral type F8.[2]
Robert Kraft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | June 16, 1927 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | May 26, 2015 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Washington, University of California at Berkeley |
| Known for | Kraft break |
| Scientific career | |
| Doctoral advisor | George Herbig |
Career
editKraft served as director of the Lick Observatory (1981–1991), president of the American Astronomical Society (1974–1976), and president of the International Astronomical Union (1997–2000).[3]
He received his B.S. at the University of Washington in 1947, M.S. in mathematics at the University of Washington in 1949, and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.[4] He died in 2015.[5]
Honors
editAwards
edit- Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy (1962)
- Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1995)
- Bruce Medal (2005)[6]
- National Academy of Sciences
Named after him
editReferences
edit- ^ Daintith, John (2008-08-18). Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists, Third Edition. CRC Press. ISBN 9781420072723.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Kraft, R. P. (1967), "Studies of Stellar Rotation. V. The Dependence of Rotation on Age among Solar-Type Stars", Astrophysical Journal, 150: 551, Bibcode:1967ApJ...150..551K, doi:10.1086/149359
- ^ "Robert P. Kraft, eminent astronomer and former director of UC Observatories, dies at age 87". UC Santa Cruz News.
- ^ Kraft, Robert P. (2009). "An Astronomical Life Salted by Pure Chance". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 47 (1): 1–26. Bibcode:2009ARA&A..47....1K. doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-082708-101743.
- ^ "Robert P. Kraft, eminent astronomer and former director of UC Observatories, dies at age 87". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "The Bruce Medalists: Robert P. Kraft". Retrieved 2010-02-01.
Further reading
edit- Kraft, R. P. (2009). "An Astronomical Life Salted by Pure Chance". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 47 (1): 1–26. Bibcode:2009ARA&A..47....1K. doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-082708-101743.
External links
edit
Quotations related to Robert Kraft (astronomer) at Wikiquote- Sandra Faber, "Robert P. Kraft", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2022)
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