RYAN HICKOX
PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY FAVORITE BOOK TO TEACH Introduction to Cosmology, by Barbara Ryden MUST-READ BOOKS IN YOUR FIELD Accretion Power in Astrophysics, by Juhan Frank, Andrew King and Derek Raine Galaxy Formation and Evolution, by Houjun Mo, Frank van den Bosch and Simon White Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy, by Kip Thorne FAVORITE PLEASURE READS The Aubrey-Maturin series, starting with Master and Commander, by Patrick O'Brian MOST RECENTLY READ Dr. Thorndyke mysteries, by R. Austin Freeman "Cosmology is a remarkably beautiful but highly mathematical subject, and many of its elegant fundamental concepts (such as the relationship between dark matter and dark energy in determining the expansion of the universe) can be obscured by the math in traditional treatments. Ryden's book does a lovely job introducing the ideas of cosmology in a highly conceptual but still rigorous way." "My research is focused on the growth of supermassive black holes, which gain mass by devouring interstellar gas and dust. Accretion Powerin Astrophysics is the definitive reference for the physics of this accretion process, which releases so much energy that the growing black holes can outshine the hundreds of billions of stars in the galaxies that host them! The growth of supermassive black holes is intimately linked to the formation and evolution of their host galaxies. Aimed at a popular audience, Thome's book tells a compelling story about black holes, singularities, wormholes and other exotic phenomena of general relativity, and the pioneering theorists who grappled with the mind- and spacebending consequences of Einstein's theory." "I have a particular interest in historical fiction. I'm fascinated by the parallels one can find in the human experience in very different historical periods, despite obvious contrasts in culture, politics and technology. To me the gold standard for historical fiction is the Aubrey-Maturin series, which captures the world of the Napoleonic wars in amazing detail with a cast of wonderful characters." "Dr. Thorndyke is a 'medical jurispractitioner' who solves crimes using real contemporary scientific techniques, like a proto-CS/."
