Dr. Kurtis Williams

Assistant Professor

Education: Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of California Santa Cruz (2002). B.S. in Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics at the Pennsylvania State University (1996). 

Office: Room-145(O) / 145(L)

Phone: 903-886-5516 (O)

E-mail: Kurtis.Williams@tamuc.edu

Research Interests: White dwarfs and stellar evolution, strong gravitational lensing, observational astronomy 

Dr. Williams primarily studies white dwarfs, the glowing embers of stars which have completed their life cycles.  These studies aim to determine which stars form white dwarfs at the end of their lives as opposed to exploding as supernovae, the relationships between the properties of a star and those of its white dwarf remnant, and the ultimate fate of planetary systems around stars.  These studies have made use of telescopes around the world, including the Keck Observatory, containing two of the world's largest telescopes, and the Hubble Space Telescope.