Photo of Richard H. Price

Richard H. Price

Professor of Physics
B. Eng. Phys., 1965, Cornell University
Ph.D., 1971, California Institute of Technology
Postdoctoral, 1971, California Institute of Technology
Professor of Physics, U of Utah 1971-2004
Office : SETB 1.354 Phone : (956)882-6648
Email : rprice@phys.utb.edu


Link to Physics 5441 page

In 2004, after 33 years as a professor of physics at the University of Utah, I joined the other young people at the Physics Department, and the Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the University of Texas at Brownsville.

My primary field of research interest is relativistic gravitation (i.e., Einstein's general relativity) and its application to astrophysics. Since the middle 90s I have been focusing in particular on the black hole collisions that are the most exciting potential sources of gravitational waves that might be detectable with such instruments as the US LIGO project. Computing such collisions is also considered the "holy grail" of numerical relativity (the solution of Einstein's equations on supercomputers). Like much of modern day research, my work is done in collaboration with others. I continue to work with Prof. Ben Bromley at Utah and "officially" with one graduate student at Utah, Maria Cranor. Work with other graduate students at Utah has begun. One graduate student, Michael McLaughlin, is working with me at UTB. My recent collaborators at other institutions include John Friedman at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Chris Beetle at Florida Atlantic; Lior Burko, at Bates College; and especially Jorge Pullin at LSU.

I am also interested in applying the methods of physics and of applied mathematics to a much broader set of problems. This (partially) explains why I was an Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah, and worked with the Center for Engineering Design and Sarcos Corporation on micromechanical devices. At UTB I will be working to develop an Engineering Physics degree that will combine elements of a physics and an engineering education. (My own undergraduate degree, perhaps appropriately, is Bachelor of Engineering Physics from Cornell University.)

I have also been interested in innovations in teaching physics and introduced collaborative learning techniques in the introductory calculus-based courses PHYCS 2220 at the University of Utah. My interest in innovations in teaching and in applying physics to a broad set of projects came together in the Physics of Modern Technology (PMT) program at the University of Utah. Most notably, this program gave rise to PHYCS 4910, a very successful course in technical communication, scientific judgment, and much more.

In my spare time I am on the editorial board of the all electronic physics journal New Journal of Physics and I am a Divisional Associate Editor of Physical Review Letters for gravitation, and a member of the editorial advisory board of American Journal of Physics. Recently (April 2002-April 2003) I was Chair of The Topical Group in Gravitation, an American Physical Society group specific to my field. I am presently chair of the Topical Group activities for the 2005 World Year of Physics. I am a fellow of the American Physical Society.

Other of my physics related activities have included a Hollywood movie. (This was a biography of Einstein. I played myself and have been told that I did a believable job.) Very recently I had a brief (one song) musical career as a member of the physics singing group Bernie and the Gravitones.

Books

Some Recent Research Articles on General Relativity and Astrophysics

Some Recent Articles on Physics Pedagogy

Some Other Publications of Interest for Various Reasons