Nolan Revere Walborn[4] | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1944-09-30)September 30, 1944 Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania |
| Died | February 22, 2018(2018-02-22) (aged 73) |
| Education | Ph.D. |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago |
| Parents |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Thesis | Some spectroscopic characteristics of the OB stars[1] (1970) |
| Doctoral advisor | William Wilson Morgan[2][3] |
Nolan R. Walborn (September 30, 1944 – February 22, 2018) was an American astronomer. He was a recognized expert on the topic of hot, massive stars,[5] particularly theirstellar classification.[6] Walborn served as a researcher at theSpace Telescope Science Institute for over 34 years.[6]
Walborn was born inBloomsburg, Pennsylvania, one of four children of Rev. George M. Walborn and Evelyn Loretta née Miller. His mother had been a teacher prior to her marriage. In 1953, the family relocated to Argentina when the father accepted a posting from the Lutheran Board of World Missions. His mother saw to the children's elementary education through home schooling with a USA-based correspondence school. At the same time, they attended public school, becoming bilingual as a result. Nolan completed high school at the American Community School inBuenos Aires, graduating as class valedictorian.[7]
Walborn returned to the USA for undergraduate studies in physics atGettysburg College inPennsylvania.[6] He played the trumpet with the Gettysburg College Marching Band,[8] and spent two years in theAir Force ROTC program.[7] In between his junior and senior years, he attended his studies at a university institute for space sciences, which led to an interest in astronomy and astrophysics.[9] Walborn graduatedsumma cum laude in 1966. He joinedYerkes Observatory for graduate studies in astronomy at theUniversity of Chicago.[6] He received his doctorate in 1970 under advisorWilliam Wilson Morgan[2] with a dissertation titledSome spectroscopic characteristics of the OB stars.[1]
His postgraduate work was at theDavid Dunlap Observatory for theUniversity of Toronto, followed in 1973 by work as a staff astronomer atCerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. While there, his studies included some of the hottest known stars, being ofstellar class O3.[5][10] In 1979 helped draft the proposal to NASA to manage theSpace Telescope Science Institute, particularly the science management component. He was a Senior Research Associate at NASA'sGoddard Space Flight Center before joining the Space Telescope Science Institute in 1984. There he would remain for the next 34 years, serving in a variety of roles.[6]
During his career, Walborn was listed as an author on 214 peer-reviewed publications. Among his more notable works were studies of theTarantula Nebula,Eta Carinae,Theta1 Orionis C,[5] and the properties of young, massivestar clusters.[6] During the 1980s, he collaborated withBarry M. Lasker to identify the progenitor star forSN 1987A.[5] He was the author of chapter 3 ofStellar Spectral Classification, published in 2009 byPrinceton University Press.[11] On February 22, 2018, the asteroid25942 Walborn (2001 EH9) was named in his honor.[2][3] His family chose to launch some of his ashes into space, a service performed by theCelestis company with the flight nameEnterprise.[8][12]