- Katherine Freese
Infobox Person
name = Katherine Freese
image_size = 180pxDr. Katherine Freese, a theoretical astrophysicist, is a Professor of Physics at the
University of Michigan and Associate Director of the Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics. She is known for her work in theoretical cosmology at the interface of particle physics and astrophysics.Education and Academic Career
Dr. Freese received her BA from
Princeton University and her PhD in 1984 at theUniversity of Chicago . After postdoctoral fellowships atHarvard University , at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, and as a Presidential Fellow at theUniversity of California, Berkeley , she became an Assistant Professor atMIT in 1988. She moved to the University of Michigan in 1991.Contributions
Dr. Freese has been an early force in
dark matter anddark energy science. She was one of the first to propose ways to discover dark matter.face Her idea of indirect detection in the Earth is being pursued by the ICECUBE experiment,Fact|date=August 2008 and the "wind" of dark matter particles felt as the Earth orbits the Milky Way (work withDavid Spergel is being searched for in worldwide experiments. Her work decisively ruled outMACHO (Massive compact halo object) dark matter in favor ofWIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles) [James Glanz, New York Times, Feb. 2000, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E6D91539F93AA15751C0A9669C8B63] , "In the Dark Matter Wars, WIMPs beat MACHOs",] . She has proposed a model known as "Cardassian expansion," in which dark energy is replaced with a modification ofEinstein's equations . [Dennis Overbye, New York Times, Nov. 2003, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05EED61139F932A25752C1A9659C8B63] , "What is Gravity, Really?"] . Recently she discovered a new theoretical type of star, called a dark star, powered by dark matter annihilation rather than fusion.Freese has also worked on the beginnings of the Universe, including the search for a successful inflationary theory to kick off the Big Bang. She has studied the
Ultimate fate of the universe , including the fate of life in the universe. To quote New Scientist: "Katherine Freese and William Kinney don't look much like superheroes, but this pair of astrophysicists may just have rescued all life in the Universe [Philip Ball, [http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17523545.900-never-say-die.html] , "Never Say Die", New Scientist, Aug. 2002] ."Dr. Freese has served on the Board of the
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara and the Board of the Aspen Center for Theoretical Physics. Currently she is Councilor of theAmerican Physical Society and member of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (AAAC).References
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