Patrick Young

Patrick Young is a theoretical astrophysicist interested in the lives and deaths of stars and their effects on their environments, from synthesis of the chemical elements to planetary habitability. His current research touches on several areas. It involves computational hydrodynamics simulations of stellar interiors, supernovae and gamma-ray bursts (the most energetic explosive events in the universe), and the synthesis and ejection of elements by nuclear fusion in stars and stellar explosions. He also models the evolution of stars over the entire span of their lives and how their radiation, winds, and stellar activity may affect the habitability of nearby planets. His interests extend to observations of stellar chemical compositions, and he works with geoscientists to understand how their unexpected diversity may affect the mineral makeup and geophysical evolution of exoplanets. The impact of these processes range from the evolution of galaxies, to the interaction of stellar winds with local environments, to the enrichment of forming solar systems with the elements needed for life.