Biography:
J. Craig Wheeler is the Samuel T. and Fern Yanagisawa Regents Professor of Astronomy, Emeritus, and Distinguished Teaching Professor, Emeritus, at the University of Texas at Austin, and past chair of the department. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society. He has published nearly 400 refereed scientific papers, as many meeting proceedings, a professional-level book on supernovae (Supernova Explosions), a popular book on supernovae, gamma-ray bursts and related topics (Cosmic Catastrophes), two novels (The Krone Experiment and Krone Ascending), and has edited six books. Wheeler has received many awards for his teaching, including the University of Texas Regents Award, and is a popular science lecturer. He was a visiting fellow at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory, and a Fulbright Fellow in Italy. He has served on a number of agency advisory committees, including those for the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Research Council. He has held many positions in the American Astronomical Society and was President of the Society from 2006 to 2008. His research interests include supernovae, black holes, astrobiology, high energy density astrophysics, and the technological future of humanity.