Andrew Levan

2018 United Kingdom Award Finalist — Faculty

Current Position:
Professor of Astronomy, Department of Physics

Institution:
University of Warwick

Discipline:
Astrophysics & Cosmology

Recognized for: Transforming our understanding in high-energy events in the universe (such as deaths of stars and formation of black holes) by leading the observations on gamma-ray bursts and deploying such phenomena as probes to the distant universe

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise: Gamma-ray bursts, Gravitational waves, Supernovae, Distant and Transient Events in the Universe, and Black Holes

Biography:

MPhys, University of Leicester, UK
PhD, Astronomy, University of Leicester, UK (Advisor: Prof. Martin Barstow)
PPARC Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Hertfordshire, UK (Advisor: Prof. Nial Tanvir)
Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor, University of Warwick, UK

Prof. Levan works on the observation of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which are the most luminous and energetic explosions in the universe: for a few seconds they emit as much energy in this fleeting burst as the Sun creates over its 10 billion-year life. He has obtained much new understanding of the rich relativistic physics behind GRBs, and has deployed such phenomena as powerful probes that act as lighthouses to the distant universe. Noticeable research highlights achieved by Prof. Levan include the identification of the most distant GRBs ever seen in the universe, which explore the conditions in the earliest galaxies; the discovery of a new type of outburst from a star tidally destroyed in a close encounter with supermassive black hole, which opens an entirely new window onto the properties of black holes at the center of galaxies; the identification of a new type of ultra-long GRBs resulted from a stellar explosion; and work showing that despite the extreme and potentially hazardous nature of these explosions, the Earth itself is likely safe. Most recently, Prof. Levan played a major role in the identification of characterization of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave source, GW170817. This included the identification of the infrared counterpart, known as a kilonova, and leading the first observations of this counterpart with the Hubble Space Telescope. These events provide the astrophysics community with a completely new way to study the Universe, and explore new information from deep inside extreme events, places that cannot be seen with normal light.

“My work seeks to understand how some of the most extreme objects in nature work, but also how their action shapes the world in which we live. Our planet is sculpted by such events, from the heavy elements that make the Earth, our bodies or even our precious metals to the explosions of stars than can extinguish life on Earth. I am deeply honoured to be recognized by the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists for this work, and would like to thank all of my friends and collaborators who have made the work possible.”

Key Publications:

N. R. Tanvir, D. B. Fox, A. J. Levan, et al. A γ -ray burst at a redshift of z ≈ 8.2. Nature, 2009.
A. J. Levan, et al. An extremely luminous panchromatic outburst from the nucleus of a distant galaxy. Science, 2011.
A. J. Levan, et al. A new population of ultra-long duration gamma-ray burst. The Astrophysical Journal, 2014.
A.J Levan et al. The Environment of the Binary Neutron Star Merger GW170817. The Astrophysical Journal Letters 2017

Other Honors:

2017	European Research Council Consolidator Grant Fellow
2011	Philip Leverhulme Prize
2005	PPARC Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Hertfordshire
2005	Swedish Institute Visiting Scholarship, Lund Observatory
2002	Space Telescope Science Institute Summer Student Programme
2001	Space Telescope Science Institute Summer Student Programme
2000	Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Award, University of Leicester
1998	Undergraduate bursary for top entry grades at the University of Leicester

In the Media: