James W. York
Encyclopedia
James W. York, Jr. is an American mathematical physicist who is well known for his many important contributions to the theory of general relativity
. In any physical theory, it is important to understand when solutions to the fundamental field equation
exist, and answering this question has been the central theme of York's scientific work, culminating in the achievement, with Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat
, of formulating the Einstein field equation as a well-posed system in the sense of the theory of partial differential equation
s.
York earned his B.Sc. in 1962 from North Carolina State University
.
York is widely credited with being the first to recognize the importance of conformal geometry
in the initial value problem, and with introducing concepts now called the York curvature and York time.
York is a recipient of the Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics
from the American Physical Society
, where he is a Fellow.
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
. In any physical theory, it is important to understand when solutions to the fundamental field equation
Field equation
A field equation is an equation in a physical theory that describes how a fundamental force interacts with matter...
exist, and answering this question has been the central theme of York's scientific work, culminating in the achievement, with Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat
Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat
Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat is a French mathematician and physicist. She was the first woman to be elected to the Académie des Sciences Française and is a Grand Officier of the Légion d'honneur....
, of formulating the Einstein field equation as a well-posed system in the sense of the theory of partial differential equation
Partial differential equation
In mathematics, partial differential equations are a type of differential equation, i.e., a relation involving an unknown function of several independent variables and their partial derivatives with respect to those variables...
s.
York earned his B.Sc. in 1962 from North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
.
York is widely credited with being the first to recognize the importance of conformal geometry
Conformal geometry
In mathematics, conformal geometry is the study of the set of angle-preserving transformations on a space. In two real dimensions, conformal geometry is precisely the geometry of Riemann surfaces...
in the initial value problem, and with introducing concepts now called the York curvature and York time.
York is a recipient of the Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics
Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics
Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics is an award given each year since 1959 jointly by the American Physical Society and American Institute of Physics. It is established by the Heineman Foundation in honour of Dannie Heineman...
from the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
, where he is a Fellow.