Dr. E Phinney

Biography

E. Sterl Phinney is a Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology. He received his B.S. from Caltech in 1980 and his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 1983. He started his academic career at Caltech as an Assistant Professor in 1985, became an Associate Professor in 1991, and was promoted to full Professor in 1995. He has served as Executive Officer from 2013 to 2016. His research interests are in theoretical high-energy astrophysics, including gravitational wave astrophysics, with a focus on black holes, neutron stars, and the early universe. Phinney chaired the Mission Definition Team for the LISA space mission from 1997 to 2001, served on the International Science Team, and led the Sources Data Analysis Working Group from 2001 to 2011. He currently leads the theory team for the ULTRAsat mission and engages in research related to millisecond pulsars and the interactions of stars with black holes. Phinney emphasizes the importance of combining electromagnetic, particle, and gravitational wave observations to answer long-standing questions in physics. He is a Fellow of several professional societies and has received multiple awards for his contributions to teaching and research. His courses include topics in radiative processes, the physics of the interstellar medium, and order-of-magnitude physics, emphasizing the application of physics to complex systems.

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