Robert Kraft
Born(1927-06-16)June 16, 1927
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
DiedMay 26, 2015(2015-05-26) (aged 87)
Santa Cruz, California
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Washington, University of California at Berkeley
Known forKraft break
Scientific career
Doctoral advisorGeorge Herbig

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]

Career

Kraft 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

Awards

Named after him

References

  1. ^ Daintith, John (2008-08-18). Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists, Third Edition. CRC Press. ISBN 9781420072723. ((cite book)): |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ "Robert P. Kraft, eminent astronomer and former director of UC Observatories, dies at age 87". UC Santa Cruz News.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Robert P. Kraft, eminent astronomer and former director of UC Observatories, dies at age 87". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  6. ^ "The Bruce Medalists: Robert P. Kraft". Retrieved 2010-02-01.

Further reading

External links


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