William L. Burke
Encyclopedia
William Lionel Burke was an astronomy, astrophysics, and physics professor at UC Santa Cruz. He is also the author of Spacetime, Geometry, Cosmology (ISBN 0-935702-01-6), and of Applied differential geometry (ISBN 0-521-26929-6), a text expounding the virtues of differential forms over vector calculus for theoretical physics.
Born in Bennington, Vermont, Burke obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Caltech in 1963. His 1969 doctoral thesis, also at Caltech and supervised by Kip Thorne
, Richard Feynman
, and John Wheeler
, was entitled The Coupling of Gravitational Radiation to Nonrelativistic Sources. His discovery of the Burke Potential, an aspect of gravitation
overlooked by Einstein
himself, dates from this period. He became a full professor at UCSC in 1988.
Burke is also known as the godfather of the Santa Cruz "chaos cabal", that nurtured the seminal work of MacArthur Fellow Robert Shaw
, Norman Packard
, Doyne Farmer and James Crutchfield. In Tom Bass' book The Eudaemonic Pie
, Burke prided himself for his Rubik's Cube
costume at the end of the book which kept his identity concealed from his students.
An avid hiker, climber, skier, sailor, wind surfer, and Go
player, Bill Burke died from complications due to a cervical fracture sustained in an automobile accident.
Bill was married and then divorced from his wife Pat (Patricia).
Born in Bennington, Vermont, Burke obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Caltech in 1963. His 1969 doctoral thesis, also at Caltech and supervised by Kip Thorne
Kip Thorne
Kip Stephen Thorne is an American theoretical physicist, known for his prolific contributions in gravitation physics and astrophysics and for having trained a generation of scientists...
, Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
, and John Wheeler
John Wheeler
John Wheeler may refer to:* John Wheeler , American Emmy Award-winning audio/video engineer* John Wheeler , Union officer in the Civil War; killed at Gettysburg* John Wheeler John Wheeler may refer to:* John Wheeler (audio/video technologist) (born 1957), American Emmy Award-winning audio/video...
, was entitled The Coupling of Gravitational Radiation to Nonrelativistic Sources. His discovery of the Burke Potential, an aspect of gravitation
Gravitation
Gravitation, or gravity, is a natural phenomenon by which physical bodies attract with a force proportional to their mass. Gravitation is most familiar as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped...
overlooked by Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
himself, dates from this period. He became a full professor at UCSC in 1988.
Burke is also known as the godfather of the Santa Cruz "chaos cabal", that nurtured the seminal work of MacArthur Fellow Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (physicist)
Robert Stetson Shaw is an American physicist who was part of Eudaemonic Enterprises in Santa Cruz in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1988 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for his work in Chaos theory.-Chaos theory:...
, Norman Packard
Norman Packard
Norman Harry Packard is a chaos theory physicist and one of the founders of the Prediction Company and ProtoLife. He is an alumnus of Reed College and the University of California, Santa Cruz. Packard is known for his contributions to both chaos theory and cellular automata...
, Doyne Farmer and James Crutchfield. In Tom Bass' book The Eudaemonic Pie
The Eudaemonic Pie
The Eudaemonic Pie is a 1985 book by American author Thomas A. Bass, about a group of University of California, Santa Cruz physics graduate students who in the late 1970s and early 1980s designed and employed miniaturized computers, hidden in specially modified shoes, to help predict the outcome...
, Burke prided himself for his Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
costume at the end of the book which kept his identity concealed from his students.
An avid hiker, climber, skier, sailor, wind surfer, and Go
Go (board game)
Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...
player, Bill Burke died from complications due to a cervical fracture sustained in an automobile accident.
Bill was married and then divorced from his wife Pat (Patricia).