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Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Senior Astrophysicist
Former Director, Chandra X-ray Center (2014-2020)
University of Bristol, UK
Royal Society Wolfson Visiting Fellow, 2021-2023
Jesus College Cambridge
Contact Information
Office: B-426 60 Garden St., Cambridge MA 02138
Phone: +1-617-721-4357
Email: bwilkes [at] cfa.harvard.edu
ORCID ID: 0000 0003 1809 2364
Education
Ph.D. Cambridge University 1982
B.Sc. (Hons) St. Andrews University 1978
Professional Societies
Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society
Fellow, Cambridge Philosophical Society
Fellow, American Astronomical Society
Member, International Astronomical Union
Member, European Astronomical Society
Fellow, American Physical Society
Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Research Interests
X-ray/radio jets from quasars at high redshift and AGN Unification
Observations of Spectral energy distributions (100μ - 3.5 keV) of quasars to study their energy generation mechanisms and the relation of emission lines and ionizing continuum shape
Soft X-ray spectra of quasars, including intervening and intrinsic absorption and the association of the former with absorption seen in the ultra-violet
X-ray and Multi-wavelength surveys with a particular interest in the resulting quasars and active galaxy samples.
Optical spectroscopy of quasars and study of their broad emission lines
