Astrophysics with Radioactive Isotopes / Astrophysics and Space Science Library Bd.453 (PDF)

California Santa Cruz (1989). He had studied Physics Engineering in Lübeck / Germany, then found his interest in astrophysics at the Gauss Observatory in Göttingen, where he obtained his Diploma (1982) on the nuclear equation of state of supernova matter. Studies of nucleosynthesis in neutron-rich environments to explain isotopic anomalies in meteorites, and ¿-ray properties of core-collapse supernovae continued this early work. Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) and their afterglows were subject of his Ph.D. time under the mentorship of Prof. S. E. Woosley, whereafter a postdoctoral research position at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory focused on galactic dynamics and GRB counterparts. Since 1991 he pursued nuclear and ¿-ray astrophysics in the group of Prof. Donald D. Clayton at Clemson University. He worked as member of the LOTIS Team (GRB counterparts), and then in the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) Team for many years, including many summer visits working with the gamma-ray group at the MPE. He has been member of the User Groups of NASA's Swift- and Fermi-missions, as well as ESA's INTEGRAL User Group, and also serves as a Scientific Editor of The Astrophysical Journal, and in committees such as the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee and NASA's roadmap study "Enduring Quests - Daring Visions". His current research includes the general area of Time Domain Astrophysics, with a focus on explosive phenomena (novae, supernovae, GRBs) and their use as cosmic probes for galactic and cosmic chemical evolution.



Nikos Prantzos is Director of research in the Paris Institute of Astrophysics. He holds a PhD in nuclear astrophysics from Paris VII University (1986). His main scientific interests are on stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis, with an emphasis on galactic chemical evolution and high energy astrophysics, in particular gamma-ray line astronomy and the composition of galactic cosmic rays. He coordinated various international teams doing theoretical work on these topics, and on interpretations of the variety of astronomical observations, including high-energy data on gamma rays and cosmic rays. He served as member of the time allocation committee of ESA's gamma-ray satellite INTEGRAL. He was representative of Greece in the Board of Directors of the European journal "Astronomy and Astrophysics" and he served as member of the Councils of the Greek Astronomical Society, the French Astronomical Society and the French Society of Physics. He was awarded the annual distinction of the French Astronomical Society in 1994. He is also author of science popularisation books, which have been translated into several other languages.