Department of Physics and Astronomy
1251 Wescoe Hall Dr. #1082
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas 66045
Office phone (785) 864-3037
Fax (785) 864-5262
Email: melott "at" ku.edu
Education, Awards
Ph.D., Physics, University of Texas, 1981
IREX Fellow, Moscow State University, 1983
Enrico Fermi Fellow, University of Chicago, 1983-86
Fellow of the American Physical Society, named 1996 "For groundbreaking studies of the origin and evolution of cosmic structure".
Steeples Service Award, University of Kansas, 2001
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, named 2007
"For distinguished contributions to cosmological large-scale structure, for organizing public support for teaching evolution, and for interdisciplinary research on astrophysical impacts on the biosphere."
Barbara Schowen Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, 2013
Links between long-term trends in fossil biodiversity and our motion through the Universe.
Physics Today article with more details.
Nature news article with mutliple reference to our work on "Death from Above".
Formerly, I worked primarily on the Large Scale Structure in the Universe
N-body Simulations of Large-Scale Structure;
Formation of Superclusters and Voids
The first theoretical model of the Cosmic Web arising in a Cold Dark Matter dominated universe
was published in 1983.
The "Bullseye Effect" is a distortion in redshift survey maps
introduced by the fact that galaxies are not at rest in their local rest
frame. For an
animated image click here. As these motions
are caused by the gravitational field of matter in the Universe, they can
be used to probe the mass density.
I have been quite skeptical of assumptions of high resolution in the N-body community; my past work illustrating this is summarized
here, with references.
History and Culture of Afghanistan
Isolated after the abandonment of the Great Silk Road, Afghanistan is freeze-dried
ancient culture. The last successful conqueror was Genghis Khan. After
fighting off the British Empire in the 19th century, and the Soviet Empire
in the 20th, a civil war continued. The US had supported the most fanatical
fundamentalists (who would never compromise with the Soviets), so they emerged
as the most powerful faction.
The war destroyed most of the relics of ancient crossroads culture,
such as the Greco-Buddhist style
of statuary.
Views (1973) from atop the head of the Buddha and the frescoes there .
Extremes of climate and geology produced wonders like the Band-i-Amir lakes. .
Another view of Band-i-Amir, now a national park.
Mineral
deposits over millions of years have left these ice-cold lakes as much as
20 feet above the surrounding countryside.
All of the images seen here except the Band-i-Amir lake picture are my own
photography. Here are a few more pictures of Afghanistan before the
holocaust:
