Reva Williams
Reva Kay Williams | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Malcolm X College Northwestern University Indiana University Bloomington |
| Known for | Gravitoelectromagnetism |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Toledo University of Florida |
Reva Kay Wiliams is an African-American astrophysicist at the University of Toledo. She is generally considered to be the first African-American woman to become an astrophysicist. She worked on the Penrose mechanism of blackholes.
Early life and education
Williams was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She moved to Chicago at the age of 6 and studied at Malcolm X College, earning an A.A. in liberal arts in 1977 and being voted graduate student of the year.[1] She studied astronomy at Northwestern University, earning a B.A. in 1980. She completed her MA in 1980. She joined Indiana University Bloomington for her PhD, achieving her doctorate in 1991.
Career
Williams was awarded a National Science Foundation career grant and moved to the University of Florida in 1993. She joined Bennett College in 1998, winning the Belle Ringer Image Role Model Award, and acting as an Associate Professor of Astrophysics. Her work considered gravitoelectromagnetism. She looked at the Penrose scattering process in the ergosphere of Kerr black holes.[2][3] This formed a major part of her research, searching for the energy sources of active galactic nuclei. Williams was the first person to work out the Penrose mechanism of black holes.[4][5][6] Her calculations explained why black hole jets were often uneven - black holes drag space and time near their cores.[7] She showed that the Lense-Thirring Effect could cause the high energies and luminosities.[8] She became interested in gravitational instabilities in the early universe, but was unable to remain at the University of Florida after her postdoctoral fellowship ended. She looks at how black holes could be used to power gamma-ray bursts. She struggled when the University of Florida decided against supporting relativistic physics research and did not reinstate her fellowship.
Since 2009 she has been a research assistant professor at the University of Toledo.[9] She was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to study the jet structure and energy generation of quasars and other active galactic nuclei.[10][11] They combined Monte Carlo simulations with the physics of general relativistic super-massive Kerr black holes.[10] She hopes to demonstrate that Kerr black holes can provide the energy of active galactic nuclei.[10] She also works dark energy and whether it could be a manifestation of gravity.[12]
References
- ^ "Alumna Dr Reva Kay Williams" (PDF). APPS. 2004-11-04. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Kay, Williams, Reva (1999-11). "Extracting Energy-Momentum from Rotating Black Holes Using the Penrose Mechanism".
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Williams, Reva Kay (1995-05-15). "Extracting x rays, \ensuremath{\gamma} rays, and relativistic ${\mathit{e}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$${\mathit{e}}^{+}$ pairs from supermassive Kerr black holes using the Penrose mechanism". Physical Review D. 51 (10): 5387–5427. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.51.5387.
- ^ WILLIAMS, REVA KAY (2005-06). "Gravitomagnetic Field and Penrose Scattering Processes". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1045 (1): 232–245. doi:10.1196/annals.1350.018. ISSN 0077-8923.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Carey, Charles W. (2008). African Americans in Science: An Encyclopedia of People and Progress. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851099986.
- ^ Williams, Reva Kay (2004-04-06). "A Word from a Black Female Relativistic Astrophysicist: Setting the Record Straight on Black Holes". arXiv:physics/0404029.
- ^ Florida, University of. "08 » Astrophysicist Helps Crack A Black Hole Mystery: Energy Jets » University of Florida". news.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ Williams, Reva Kay (1995-05-15). "Extracting x rays, \ensuremath{\gamma} rays, and relativistic ${\mathit{e}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$${\mathit{e}}^{+}$ pairs from supermassive Kerr black holes using the Penrose mechanism". Physical Review D. 51 (10): 5387–5427. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.51.5387.
- ^ "Research Assistant Professor - Williams, Reva-Kay". www.utoledo.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
{{cite web}}: no-break space character in|title=at position 29 (help) - ^ a b c "NSF Award Search: Award#0909098 - Theoretical and Numerical Investigation of a Unified Astrophysical Rotating Black Hole Model for Active Galactic Nuclei, Microquasars, and Gamma-Ray Bursters". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ "Physics & Astronomy News". www.utoledo.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ Williams, Reva Kay (2011-09-26). "Could Dark Energy be a Manifestation of Gravity?". arXiv:1109.5652 [physics].