Roy P. Kerr | |
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 Kerr in 2016 | |
| Born | (1934-05-16)16 May 1934 (age 91) Kurow, New Zealand |
| Education | St. Andrew's College, Christchurch |
| Alma mater |
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| Known for | Kerr metric Kerr–Newman metric Kerr–Schild perturbations |
| Awards | Hector Medal (1982) Hughes Medal (1984) Rutherford Medal (1993) Albert Einstein Medal (2013) Crafoord Prize (2016) Oskar Klein Medal (2020) Dirac Medal (ICTP) (2025) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | University of Canterbury Syracuse University |
| Thesis | Equations of Motion in General Relativity (1960) |
Roy Patrick KerrCNZM FRS FRSNZ (/kɜːr/; born 16 May 1934) is a New Zealand mathematician who discovered theKerr geometry, anexact solution to theEinstein field equation ofgeneral relativity. His solution models the gravitational field outside an uncharged rotating massive object, including arotating black hole.[1][2] His solution to Einstein's equations predicted spinning black holes before they were discovered.[3][4]
Kerr was born in 1934 inKurow, New Zealand.[5] He was born into a dysfunctional family, and his mother was forced to leave when he was three. When his father went to war, he was sent to a farm. After his father's return from war, they moved toChristchurch. He was accepted toSt Andrew's College, a private school, as his father had served under a former headmaster.[6] Kerr's mathematical talent was first recognised while he was still a student at St Andrew's College. Although there was no mathematics teacher there at the time, he was able in 1951 to go straight into the third year of mathematics at Canterbury University College, a constituent of theUniversity of New Zealand and the precursor to theUniversity of Canterbury. Their regulations did not permit him to graduate until 1954 and so it was not until September 1955 that he moved to theUniversity of Cambridge, where he earned hisPhD in 1959.[7] His dissertation concerned the equations of motion in general relativity.[5]
After apostdoctoral fellowship atSyracuse University, where Einstein's collaboratorPeter Bergmann was a professor,[8][9] he spent some time working for theUnited States Air Force atWright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kerr speculated that the "main reason why the US Air Force had created a General Relativity section was probably to show theU.S. Navy that they could also do pure research."[10]
In 1962, Kerr joinedAlfred Schild and his Relativity Group at theUniversity of Texas at Austin. As Kerr wrote in 2009:
Kerr presented to the Symposium his solution to the Einstein field equations.[12]Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Nobel laureate, 1983) is quoted as having said :
In 1965, with Alfred Schild, he introduced the concept ofKerr–Schild perturbations and developed theKerr–Newman metric.[14][15][16] During his time in Texas, Kerr supervised four PhD students.
In 1971, Kerr returned to theUniversity of Canterbury in New Zealand. Kerr retired from his position as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Canterbury in 1993 after having been there for twenty-two years, including ten years as the head of the Mathematics department.
In 2008 Kerr was appointed to the Yevgeny LifshitzICRANet Chair inPescara, Italy.
Fulvio Melia interviewed Kerr about his work on the solution for the bookCracking the Einstein Code: Relativity and the Birth of Black Hole Physics published in 2009.[22] Kerr contributed an "Afterword" of two and a half pages.
In 2012, it was announced that Kerr would be honoured by theAlbert Einstein Society in Switzerland with the 2013Albert Einstein Medal. He is the first New Zealander to receive the prestigious award.[23]
In December 2015, theUniversity of Canterbury awarded Kerr an honoraryDoctor of Science.[24]
In 2025 he was awarded theDirac Medal (ICTP).[25]
Kerr is married to Margaret.[6] In 2022, after 9 years inTauranga they returned toChristchurch, where they now reside. Kerr was a notable bridge player representing New Zealand internationally in the mid-1970s.[26] He was co-author of the Symmetric Relay System, abidding system incontract bridge.[27]
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