James M. Bardeen

James Maxwell Bardeen (May 9, 1939 – June 20, 2022) was an American physicist known for his important work in understanding space, time, and gravity. He studied a special area of science called general relativity, which helps us learn about the universe’s biggest forces.

One of Bardeen’s biggest contributions was helping to create the laws of black hole mechanics. These laws explain how black holes, objects so strong that even light cannot escape, behave and change over time.

Bardeen also discovered something called the Bardeen vacuum. This was an exact solution of the complex math used to describe how space and time bend and stretch, known as the Einstein field equation. His work continues to help scientists explore the mysteries of the universe today.

Early life and education

James M. Bardeen was born on May 9, 1939, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father, John Bardeen, won the Nobel Prize in Physics twice for important work in science. Bardeen grew up in several places, including Washington, D.C., Summit, New Jersey, and Chicago. He went to school in Urbana, Illinois, and later studied physics at Harvard University. After finishing his studies there, he continued his education at the California Institute of Technology with famous scientists like Richard Feynman. He completed his doctorate in 1965.

Career

James M. Bardeen worked at several famous universities, starting with University of California, Berkeley and later joining the University of Washington in 1967. In 1972, he moved to Yale University and worked with famous scientists like Stephen Hawking on important ideas about black holes. That year, he helped create the "Four Laws of Black Hole Mechanics" and described the shape of a black hole’s shadow, which we later saw in pictures from the Event Horizon Telescope of the black hole M87*.

Bardeen returned to the University of Washington in 1976 and stayed there until he retired in 2006. He also worked with other scientists to explain how tiny changes in the very early universe helped shape the galaxies we see today. He visited Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics as a guest researcher and was elected to the important group called the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2012.

Personal life

James M. Bardeen married Nancy Thomas in 1968. They met the year before in Paris at a conference and stayed married until he passed away. They had two children named William and David.

Bardeen’s brother, William A. Bardeen, was also a physicist. His sister Elizabeth was married to Thomas Greytak, a physicist who worked at MIT. In 2020, Bardeen talked about his life as a scientist and remembered his time studying with famous physicist Richard Feynman and working with Stephen Hawking. He died on June 20, 2022, at a retirement home in Seattle after living with cancer. He was 83 years old.