Nevin N. Weinberg
Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Poland
Biography
Nevin Weinberg joined the MIT Physics Department as an Assistant Professor in July 2011. He grew up in the suburbs of NYC, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago in 2000 and his Ph.D. from Caltech in 2005. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics from 2005-06 and at the University of California, Berkeley from 2006-11.
Research Interest
"Professor Weinberg is an astrophysics theorist whose research interests include compact objects, binary evolution, stellar oscillations, and explosive thermonuclear burning. His current research focuses on short period binary systems, including stellar binaries, planetary systems (e.g., hot Jupiters), and compact object binaries. He is particularly interested in understanding how the strong tides in these systems influence their evolution. The next decade promises to be very exciting for the field of binary stellar systems. Gravitational wave observatories such as LIGO and Virgo are expected to detect gravitational waves from the inspiral and merger of binary neutron stars. Tides may leave an imprint on the gravitational wave signal that will encode information about the structure of these enigmatic objects. Space missions such as Kepler have also been revealing a wealth of information about close stellar and planetary binaries including transiting planets, tidal dynamics, and asteroseismology."
