Kip S. Thorne

Biography

Abstract

Kip Thorne is Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics Emeritus at California Institute of Technology (2009-present). Thorne's research has focused on Einstein's general theory of relativity and on astrophysics, with emphasis on relativistic stars, black holes and especially gravitational waves. With R. Weiss and R. W. P. Drever, Thorne co-founded the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) Project, where gravitational waves were first detected in September 2015.

Important Dates

June 1, 1940Birth, Logan (Utah).

1962Obtained BS in Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Calif.).

1963Obtained AM in Physics, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1965Obtained PhD in Physics, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1965Lecturer, Enrico Fermi International School of Physics.

1965 – 1966National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow, Princeton University.

1966 – presentResearch Fellow in Physics (1966-1967); Associate Professor of Theoretical Physics (1967-1970); Professor of Theoretical Physics (1970-1981); William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Theoretical Physics (1981-1991); Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics (1991-2009); and Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus (2009-present), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Calif.).

1967 – 1968Fulbright Lecturer, School of Physics, Les Houches.

1968Lecturer, Enrico Fermi International School of Physics.

1968Visiting Associate Professor, University of Chicago.

1969Visiting Professor, Moscow State University (Moskovskii gosudarstvennyi universitet im. M.V. Lomonosova).

1970 – 1972Member, Governing Committee, Division of High Energy Astrophysics, American Astronomical Society.

1971Fellow, American Physical Society.

1971 – 1998Adjunct Professor of Physics, University of Utah.

1972Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1973Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1975Visiting Professor, Moscow State University (Moskovskii gosudarstvennyi universitet im. M.V. Lomonosova).

1976Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

1977Visiting Senior Research Associate, Cornell University.

1978Visiting Professor, Moscow State University (Moskovskii gosudarstvennyi universitet im. M.V. Lomonosova).

1978 – 1979Member, Committee on US-USSR Cooperation in Physics, National Academy of Sciences.

1979 – 1981Member, Advisory Board, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara.

1980 – 1984Member, Space Science Board, National Academy of Sciences.

1981Visiting Professor, Moscow State University (Moskovskii gosudarstvennyi universitet im. M.V. Lomonosova).

1981 – 1982Member, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara.

1986Visiting Professor, Moscow State University (Moskovskii gosudarstvennyi universitet im. M.V. Lomonosova).

1986 – 1992Andrew D. White Professor at Large, Cornell University.

1988Visiting Professor, Moscow State University (Moskovskii gosudarstvennyi universitet im. M.V. Lomonosova).

1990Visiting Professor, Moscow State University (Moskovskii gosudarstvennyi universitet im. M.V. Lomonosova).

1993Member, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara.

1996Awarded Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize, American Physical Society.

1997 – 1998Chair, Topical Group on Gravity, American Physical Society.

Occupation

Theoretical physicist.

Places

Birth

Logan (Utah)

Undergraduate Education

Pasadena (Calif.)

Graduate Education

Princeton (N.J.)

Employment

Pasadena (Calif.)

Subjects

Astrophysics.

Black holes (Astronomy).

Gravitational waves.

Theoretical physics.

Relationships

People

Family

Peterson, Linda Jean

First wife. Married 1960-1977.

Thorne, Alison C.

Mother.

Thorne, Bret Carter

Son.

Thorne, D. W. (David Wynne), 1908-

Father.

Thorne, Kares Anne

Daughter.

Winstein, Carolee J.

Second wife. Married 1984.

Advisors & Collaborators

Lightman, Alan P.

Advised by Thorne at California Institute of Technology, "I. Time-Dependent Accretion Disks Around Compact Objects and II. Theoretical Frameworks for Analyzing and Testing Gravitation Theories."

Misner, Charles W.

Co-wrote "Gravitation."

Page, Don N.

Advised by Thorne at California Institute of Technology, "Accretion into and Emission from Black Holes."

Press, William H.

Advised by Thorne at California Institute of Technology, "Applications of black-hole perturbation techniques."

Teukolsky, Saul A. (Saul Arno), 1947-

Advised by Thorne at California Institute of Technology, "Perturbations of a rotating black hole." Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Wheeler, John Archibald, 1911-2008

PhD advisor at Princeton University, Geometrodynamics of Cylindrical Systems. Both employed at Princeton University. Co-wrote "Gravitation."

Will, Clifford M., 1946-

Advised by Thorne at California Institute of Technology, "Theoretical frameworks for testing relativistic gravity; the parametrized post-Newtonian formalism." Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Colleagues

Adelberger, Eric G.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Anderson, Carl D. (Carl David), 1905-1991

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bacher, Robert F. (Robert Fox), 1905-2004

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bahcall, John N.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bargmann, V. (Valentine), 1908-1989

Both employed at Princeton University.

Barish, B. C. (Barry Clark), 1936-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bleakney, Walker, 1901-1992

Both employed at Princeton University.

Boehm, Felix

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Brown, G. E. (Gerald Edward), 1926-

Both employed at Princeton University.

Brown, Harold, 1927-2019

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Callan, Curtis G.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Christy, Robert F.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Cronin, James W., 1931-2016

Both employed at Princeton University.

Dashen, Roger F.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Deser, S. (Stanley)

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Dicke, Robert H. (Robert Henry)

Both employed at Princeton University.

DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

DuMond, Jesse W. M. (Jesse William Monroe), 1892-1976

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Eisenstein, James P. (James Philip)

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Epstein, Paul S. (Paul Sophus), 1883-1966

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Everhart, Thomas E.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Feynman, Richard P. (Richard Phillips), 1918-1988

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Fitch, Val L., 1923-2015

Both employed at Princeton University.

Fowler, William A.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Freedman, Daniel Z.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Gates, S. James

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Gell-Mann, Murray

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Goldberger, Marvin L.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology and Princeton University.

Hartle, J. B. (James B.)

Both employed at Princeton University.

Hellwarth, Robert Willis, 1930-2021

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Kimble, H. Jeff (Harry Jeffrey), 1949-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Koonin, Steven E.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Kryder, Mark H.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Lange, Andrew

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Lauritsen, Charles Christian, 1892-1968

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Lauritsen, Thomas, 1915-1973

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Leighton, Robert B.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

McKeown, R. D.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Oddone, Piermaria J.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Politzer, H. David, 1949-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Pollock, Robert Elwood, 1936-

Both employed at Princeton University.

Schwarz, John H.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Sciulli, Frank J.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Shenstone, A. G. (Allen Goodrich)

Both employed at Princeton University.

Smyth, Henry De Wolf, 1898-1986

Both employed at Princeton University.

Tollestrup, Alvin

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Treiman, Sam B.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Tsuei, Chang C.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Wightman, A. S. (Arthur Strong), 1922-2013

Both employed at Princeton University.

Wigner, Eugene Paul, 1902-1995

Both employed at Princeton University.

Wilkinson, David T.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Wise, Mark B., 1953-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Ye, Jun, 1967-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Zweig, George

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Additional

Barnes, C. A.

Bartusiak, Marcia, 1950-

Baym, Gordon

Braginskii, V. B. (Vladimir Borisovich)

Chandrasekhar, S. (Subrahmanyan), 1910-1995

DeWitt, Bryce S. (Bryce Seligman), 1923-2004

Giacconi, Riccardo

Ginzburg, V. L. (Vitaliĭ Lazarevich), 1916-2009

Sanders, Gary H. (Gary Hilton)

Tombrello, Thomas A.

Van Allen, James A. (James Alfred), 1914-2006

Wald, Robert M.

Weiss, Rainer

Woolgar, Stephen

Institutions

Major Positions

California Institute of Technology. Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy

Obtained BS (1962). Research Fellow in Physics; Associate Professor in Theoretical Physics; Professor of Theoretical Physics; William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Theoretical Physics; Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics; and Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus.

International School of Physics "Enrico Fermi"

Lecturer.

Princeton University. Department of Physics

Obtained AM (1963) and PhD (1965). National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow.

University of Utah. Department of Physics & Astronomy

Adjunct Professor of Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Fellow.

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Fellow.

American Astronomical Society

Member, Governing Committee.

American Physical Society

Chair, Topical Group on Gravity; Fellow; and received 1996 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize.

Cornell University. Department of Physics

Visiting Senior Research Associate and Andrew D. White Professor at Large.

Ecole d’été de physique théorique (Les Houches, Haute-Savoie, France)

Fulbright Lecturer.

Moskovskii gosudarstvennyi universitet im. M.V. Lomonosova. Fizika

Visiting Professor.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member; Member, Space Science Board; and Member, Committee on US-USSR Cooperation in Physics.

University of California, Santa Barbara. Institute for Theoretical Physics

Member and Member, Advisory Board.

University of Chicago. Department of Physics

Visiting Associate Professor.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Kip Thorne interviews conducted for his book "Black Holes and Time Warps," 1980-1989.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Marcia Bartusiak interviews conducted for her book "Einstein's Unfinished Symphony," 1998-1999.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Physics in industry [sound recording] / 1976 November 8-9.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

The scientific legacy of John Wheeler [sound recording], 2009 May 2.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Charles W. Misner papers, 1966-1969.

Hornbake Library. Archives and Manuscripts Department

University of Maryland

College Park, MD 20742, USA

John A. Wheeler papers, 1880-2008.

Library.

American Philosophical Society

105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

Oral history interview with Charles A. Barnes, 1987 July and August.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Don Page, 1988 May 18.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Gary H. Sanders, 1998 October 16.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Rainer Weiss, 2000 May 10.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Thomas Tombrello, 1998 December 2.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Vladimir Braginsky, 1997 January 15.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with William Alfred Fowler, 1972 June 8, 9, 1973 February 5, 6, and 1974 May 30.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Steve Woolgar research materials on pulsars, 1973-1976.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Black holes : the membrane paradigm /edited by Kip S. Thorne, Richard H. Price, Douglas A. Macdonald.

Black holes and time warps : Einstein's outrageous legacy / Kip S. Thorne.

Gravitation [by] Charles W. Misner, Kip S. Thorne [and] John Archibald Wheeler.

Quantum measurement / Vladimir B. Braginsky and Farid Ya. Khalili ; edited by Kip S. Thorne.

TEDxCaltech - Stephen Hawking, John Preskill, Rives, Kip Thorne - Finding Things Out