Douglas Whittet

Doug Whittet, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of Physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He obtained his bachelor and doctoral degrees in Physics and Astronomy, respectively, from the University of St. Andrews and was Senior Lecturer and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Central Lancashire prior to joining the Rensselaer faculty in 1991. He served as director of the New York Center for Astrobiology from 2009 to 2016. His research interests include the physics and chemistry of the...See more

Doug Whittet, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of Physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He obtained his bachelor and doctoral degrees in Physics and Astronomy, respectively, from the University of St. Andrews and was Senior Lecturer and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Central Lancashire prior to joining the Rensselaer faculty in 1991. He served as director of the New York Center for Astrobiology from 2009 to 2016. His research interests include the physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium, with a focus on the chemical inventories of preplanetary matter in the disks and envelopes of newly-formed stars. In the course of his research, he was a principal investigator of observing programs with the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Infrared Space Observatory. He also has a strong interest in undergraduate education and curriculum development in astronomy and related fields, a product of which is the course on which this book is based. Origins of Life: A Cosmic Perspective has been taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute each academic year since 1995 - although it has, like the field itself, evolved dramatically over the years! See less