Curriculum Vitae

Education:

• Ph.D., Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona (Minor in Geophysics) (1995)
  • Dissertation: The collisional and dynamical evolution of asteroids.
  
  
• B.S., Physics, with High Distinction, University of Minnesota. (1988)
• B.S., Astrophysics, with High Distinction, University of Minnesota. (1988)
• Faribault Senior High School, Faribault, Minnesota (Valedictorian) (1984)

Research Experience:

• Texaco Prize Research Fellow (Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences) Caltech. (1996-1997)
  • Research Topics: Tidal disruption and distortion of asteroids. The formation of asteroid satellites and doublet craters from planetary tidal forces; The formation of craters chains on the Earth and Moon; Asteroid dust transport from the main asteroid belt. Collisional evolution of asteroid spin periods.
  
  
• Research Associate with Dr. Richard Greenberg (Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Department of Planetary Sciences) University of Arizona. (1995)
  • Research Topics: The formation of asteroid satellites and doublet craters from planetary tidal forces; Collisional and dynamical evolution of 243 Ida/Dactyl and near-Earth asteroids.
  
  
• Graduate Associate under Dr. Richard Greenberg (Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Department of Planetary Sciences) University of Arizona. (1991-1995)
  • Research Topics: Collisional and dynamical evolution of individual main-belt asteroids (e.g. 951 Gaspra, 243 Ida), the main-belt asteroid population, and near-Earth asteroids.
  
  
• Graduate Assistant under Dr. Richard Greenberg (Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Department of Planetary Sciences) University of Arizona. (1989-1990)
  • Research Topics: Calculation of analytical solutions for planetary accretion rates and an investigation of distant perturbations in the three-body problem.
  
  
• Undergraduate Research Assistant under Dr. Lawrence Rudnick and Dr. Robert Gehrz (Department of Astronomy) University of Minnesota. (1987-1988)
  • Research Topics: Analysis of supernova Cassiopeia A and the Galactic Center using the Astronomical Imaging Processing System (AIPS).

Professional Positions:

• Co-Director, Student Showcase, University of Arizona. (1994)
• Associate Director, Student Showcase, University of Arizona. (1993)
• Science Representative, Graduate and Professional Student Council, University of Arizona. (1992-1995)
• Teaching Assistant, Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona. (1988)
• Vice President, Institute of Technology Student Board, University of Minnesota. (1987-1988)
• Undergraduate Tutor, Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota. (1987-1988)

Fellowships, Honors, and Awards

• Texaco Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology. (1996-1997)
• Offered the Henri Poincare' Postdoctoral Fellowship from l'Observatorie de la Cote d'Azur, Nice, France. (1995)
• Gerard P. Kuiper Memorial Award from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona. (1995)
• Representative of the Year, Associated Students of the University of Arizona/Graduate and Professional Student Council, University of Arizona. (1994)
• NASA Graduate Student Research Fellow, Education Division, University of Arizona. (1991-1994)
• Graduate Registration Fellowship, University of Arizona. (1990-1994)
• Valedictorian, Faribault Senior High School, Faribault, Minnesota. (1983-1984)
• Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America (1980)

Professional Society Affliations

• American Astronomical Society (Division of Planetary Sciences)
• American Geophysical Union
• Meteoritical Society
• Tau Beta Pi

Program Development and Management

• Created, coordinated, and developed a new event called the Student Showcase which showed off the exciting and unique contributions of students to knowledge, culture, and economic development in Arizona.
• Successfully won support and funding from campus and civic organizations, securing donations in excess of $42,000.
• Managed the planning, promotion, and production of the Student Showcase.
  
  
  • Developed the key concepts of the event in collaboration with the Showcase program committee.
  • Recruited over 150 graduate and undergraduate students to participate by offering prize money in excess of $7000.
  • Interviewed and hired a conference support service and several Showcase workers.
  • Supervised event preparation staff and delegated responsibilities to over 10 workers comprised of both volunteers and paid staff.
  • Administered event logistics, site development, review panels, and judging teams.
  • Coordinated publicity efforts which helped attract over 5000 spectators to the Showcase

News Articles (which include my research)

• Are asteroids flying piles of rubble?. Science. April 26, 1996.
• Young scientists voice hopes and fears for the future. Science. Oct. 1995.
• Two by two, part II. Astronomy. p. 28. June 1995.
• Cowen, R. Do asteroids come in pairs? Science News. V. 147, No 12. p. 191. March 25, 1995.
• Byars, C., Some asteroids may strike in pairs. Houston Chronicle. March, 1995.
• Durda, D. Two by two they came. Astronomy. p. 30-35. January 1995.
• Byars, C., 30-foot asteroid zips by Earth, but we weren't in any big peril. Houston Chronicle. March, 1994.

Bibliography: Refereed Journals

• Bottke, W. F., D. C. Richardson, P. Michel, and S. G. Love. (1997) 1620 Geographos has been reshaped by planetary tidal forces. In preparation for Nature.
• D. C. Richardson, Bottke, W. F., S. G. Love. (1997) Can Tidal distortion and disruption of Earth-crossing asteroids. In preparation for Icarus.
• Bottke, W. F., D. C. Richardson, S. G. Love. (1997) Can tidal disruption make crater chains on the Earth and Moon? Icarus 126, 470-474
• Bottke, W. F., D. C. Richardson, S. G. Love. (1997) The production of Tunguska-sized impactors by planetary tidal forces. Planetary and Space Science, in press.
• Bottke, W. F., and H. J. Melosh. (1996) The formation of binary asteroids and doublet craters. Icarus 124, 372-391.
• Bottke, W. F., R. Greenberg, A. Carusi, and G. B. Valsecchi. (1996) Mapping the effects of distant perturbations of particle-planet interactions. Icarus 125, 288-301.
• Bottke, W. F., and H. J. Melosh. (1996) The formation of asteroid satellites and doublet craters by planetary tidal forces. Nature 381, 51-53.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, H. J. Melosh, A. M. Vickery, and R. Greenberg. (1996) Origin of the Spacewatch small Earth-approaching asteroids. Icarus 122, 406-427.
• Geissler, P., J.-M. Petit, D. Durda, R. Greenberg, W. F. Bottke, M. C. Nolan, and J. Moore. (1996) Erosion and ejecta reaccretion on 243 Ida and its moon. Icarus 120, 140-157.
• Greenberg, R., W. F. Bottke, M. C. Nolan, J.-M. Petit, P. Geissler, D. Durda. (1996) Collisional and dynamical history of Ida. Icarus 120, 106-118.
• Cook, C., H. J. Melosh, and W. F. Bottke. (1996) Doublet craters on Venus. Submitted to Icarus.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, H. J. Melosh, A. M. Vickery, and R. Greenberg. (1996) Provenance of the Spacewatch small Earth-approaching asteroids. Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific; Inventory of the Solar System Conference, in press.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, and R. Greenberg. (1996) Modeling the cratering history of main-belt asteroids. In preparation for Icarus.
• Nolan, M. C., and W. F. Bottke. (1996) Orbital evoution of small Earth-crossing asteroids. In preparation for Icarus.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, R. Greenberg, and R. A. Kolvoord. (1995) Collisional lifetimes and impact statistics of near-Earth asteroids. In Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids, (T. Gehrels, M. S. Matthews, Eds.) University of Arizona Press, 337-357.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, R. A. Kolvoord, and R. Greenberg. (1994) Velocity distribution among colliding asteroids. Icarus, 107, 255-268.
• Greenberg, R., M. C. Nolan, W. F. Bottke, and R. A. Kolvoord. (1994) Collisional history of Gaspra. Icarus, 107, 84-97.
• Bottke, W. F. and R. Greenberg. (1993) Asteroidal collision probabilities. Geophys. Res. Letters, 20, 879-881.
• Greenberg, R., W. F. Bottke, G. B. Valsecchi, and A. Carusi. (1991) Planetary accretion rates: Analytical derivation. Icarus, 94, 98-111.

Abstracts and Presentations

• Bottke, W. F., D. C. Richardson, and S. G. Love. (1996) Can tidal disruption make craters chains on Earth? BAAS, 28, 1103. (presented at the 28th Annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, Tucson, Arizona, October 1996).
• Richardson, D. C., and W. F. Bottke. (1996) Tidal distortion and disruption of Earth-crossing asteroids. BAAS, 28, 1103.
• Nolan, M. C., and W. F. Bottke. (1996) Orbital evolution of very near-Earth asteroids. BAAS, 28, 1101.
• Bottke, W. F. and D. C. Richardson. (1996) The formation of Tunguska-sized impactors from planetary tidal forces. International Workshop Tunguska'96, 29. (presented at the International Workshop Tunguska'96, Bologna, Italy, July 1996).
• Bottke, W. F. and H. J. Melosh. (1996) Forming binary asteroids and doublet craters with planetary tidal forces. ACM '96, 11. (presented at the 6th Asteroids, Comets, Meteors Meeting, Versailles, France, July 1996).
• Bottke, W. F., and H. J. Melosh. (1996) Doublet craters on Mars. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXVII. 145-146.
• Melosh, H. J., J. Ingram, and W. F. Bottke. (1996) The abundance of doublet craters on Mars. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXVII. 863-864.
• Rivkin, A. S, and W. F. Bottke. (1996) Hypovelocity impacts in the main asteroid belt. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXVII. 1077-1078.
• Bottke, W. F. and H. J. Melosh. (1995) Doublet craters: Constraints on progenitors. BAAS, 27, 27. (presented at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, Mauna Lani, Hawaii, October 1995).
• Greenberg, R., W. F. Bottke, M. C. Nolan, D. D. Durda, P. Geissler, J.-M. Petit. (1995) Ida's impact history. BAAS, 27, 15.
• Nolan, M. C., and W. F. Bottke. (1995) Orbital evolution of the Spacewatch small Earth-approaching asteroids. BAAS, 27, 19.
• Geissler, P. E., J.-M. Petit, D. D. Durda, R. Greenberg, W. F. Bottke, M. C. Nolan (1995) Ejecta reaccretion on 243 Ida. BAAS, 27, 16.
• Petit, J. M., A. Morbidelli, R. Greenberg, P. Geissler, W. F. Bottke. (1995) On the long tern evolution of the Ida/Dactyl system. BAAS, 27, 16.
• Hurford, T. A., D. D. Durda, R. Greenberg, J.-M. Petit, P. Geissler, W. F. Bottke. (1995) Stable periodic orbits around Ida: Several fit Dactyls motion. BAAS, 27, 16.
• Bottke, W. F., and H. J. Melosh. (1995) Binary asteroids: Progenitors of doublet craters. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXVI. (presented at the 26th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston TX, March 1995).
• Cook, C., H. J. Melosh, and W. F. Bottke. (1995) Doublet craters on Venus. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXVI. 275-276.
• Greenberg, R., Geissler, P., W. F. Bottke, M. C. Nolan, J.-M. Petit, D. Durda. (1995) Collisional History of Ida. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXVI.
• Cook, C., H. J. Melosh, and W. F. Bottke. (1995) Doublet craters on Venus. Venus II meeting. Tucson. (presented at the Venus II conference, Tucson, AZ, January 1995).
• Bottke, W. F. and H. J. Melosh. (1994) Binary asteroids and the formation of doublet craters. BAAS, 26, 1167. (presented at the 26th Annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, Washington, D.C., November 1994).ABSTRACTS AND PRESENTATIONS (PAGE 2), CONT.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, R. Greenberg, A. M. Vickery, and H. J. Melosh. (1994) Provenance of the Spacewatch small Earth-approaching asteroids. BAAS, 26, 1164. (presented at the 26th Annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, Washington, D.C., November 1994).
• Geissler, P.E., J.-M. Petit, R. Greenberg, W. Bottke, M. Nolan, and D. Durda. (1994) Erosion and regolith redistribution on 243 Ida and its moon. BAAS, 26, 1157.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, R. Greenberg, A. M. Vickery, and H. J. Melosh. (1994) Provenance of the Spacewatch small Earth-approaching asteroids. Small Bodies in the Solar System and their Interactions with the Planets, 18. (presented at the Small Bodies in the Solar System and their Interactions with the Planets conference, Mariehamn, Aland ,August 1994).
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, R. Greenberg, A. M. Vickery, and H. J. Melosh. (1994) Provenance of the Spacewatch small Earth-approaching asteroids. Meteoritics, 29, 447. (presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, Prague, Czech Republic, July 1994).
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, R. Greenberg, A. M. Vickery, and H. J. Melosh. (1994) Provenance of the Spacewatch small Earth-approaching asteroids. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXV. 153-154. (presented at the 25th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston TX, March 1994).
• Greenberg, R., M. C. Nolan, W. F. Bottke, R. A. Kolvoord, and P. Geissler. (1993) Twice in a lifetime: Effects of a recent major impact on Gaspra. BAAS, 25, 1138.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, and R. Greenberg. (1993) Collisional evolution of spin axes among main-belt asteroids. BAAS, 25, 1118. (presented at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, Boulder CO, October 1993.)
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, and R. Greenberg. (1993) Collisional lifetimes and impact statistics of near-Earth asteroids. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXIV, 159-160.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, and R. Greenberg. (1993) Collisional lifetimes and impact statistics of near-Earth asteroids. Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids program. 13. (presented at the Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids book conference, Tucson, AZ, January 1993).
• Greenberg, R., M. C. Nolan, W. F. Bottke, and R. A. Kolvoord. (1993) Collisional and dynamical history of Gaspra. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXIV., 571-572.
• Nolan, M.C., W. F. Bottke, R. A. Kolvoord, and R. Greenberg. (1993) Numerical simulation of impacts on small asteroids: application to 951 Gaspra. Workshop on Catastrophic Disruption of Small Bodies.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, and R. Greenberg. (1992) Velocity distribution among colliding asteroids. BAAS, 24, 960.
• Greenberg, R., M. C. Nolan, W. F. Bottke, and R. A. Kolvoord. (1992) Collisional and dynamical history of Gaspra. BAAS, 24, 933.
• Bottke, W. F., R. Greenberg, A. Carusi, and G. B. Valsecchi. (1991) Mapping arrival geometries for beams of small particles approaching a planet. BAAS, 23, 1225-1226. (presented at the 24th Annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, Munich, Germany, October 1992).
• Greenberg, R., W. F. Bottke, G. B. Valsecchi, and A. Carusi. (1991) New orbital elements useful for predicting a particles behavior upon encounter with a planet. BAAS, 23, 1226.
• Greenberg, R. and W. F. Bottke. (1990) Analytic evaluations of planetary accretion rates. BAAS, 22, 1081. (presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, Palo Alto, CA, November 1991).
• Bottke, W. F., R. Greenberg, G. B. Valsecchi, and A. Carusi. (1990) Mapping effects of distant perturbations on particle-planet encounters. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXI, 119-120.
• Greenberg, R., and W. F. Bottke. (1990) Planetary accretion rates: Analytical formulae confirmed by a variety of numerical simulations. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXI, 435-436.
• Greenberg, R., and W. F. Bottke. (1990) Planetesimal impacts into protoplanets: Analytical determination of collision rates. Protostars and Planets III conference program, 72. (presented at Protostars and Planets III book conference, Tucson, AZ, March 1990).

Ph.D Thesis Research

Thesis Title: The Collisional and Dynamical Evolution of Asteroids

Thesis Advisor: Dr. Richard Greenberg

Journal References from Ph.D Thesis (published or in press):

• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, R. Greenberg, A. M. Vickery, and H. J. Melosh. (1996) Origin of the Spacewatch small Earth-approaching asteroids. Icarus 122, 406-427.
• Bottke, W. F., R. Greenberg, A. Carusi, and G. B. Valsecchi. (1996) Mapping the effects of distant perturbations of particle-planet interactions. Icarus, in press.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, H. J. Melosh, A. M. Vickery, and R. Greenberg. (1995) Provenance of the Spacewatch small Earth-approaching asteroids. Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific; Inventory of the Solar System Conference. in press.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, R. Greenberg, and R. A. Kolvoord. (1995) Collisional lifetimes and impact statistics of near-Earth asteroids. In Hazard Due to Comets and Asteroids, (T. Gehrels, M. S. Matthews, Eds.) University of Arizona Press, 337-357.
• Bottke, W. F., M. C. Nolan, R. A. Kolvoord, and R. Greenberg. (1994) Velocity distribution among colliding asteroids. Icarus, 107, 255-268.
• Bottke, W. F. and R. Greenberg. (1993) Asteroidal collision probabilities. Geophys. Res. Letters, 20, 879-881.

Summary of Ph.D Thesis:

Understanding asteroid collisional and dynamical evolution necessitates the use of statistical methods, since an asteroids physical and orbital characteristics are modified throughout its lifetime by collisions and planetary perturbations. Thus, my thesis investigates evolutionary trends for asteroids by calculating and applying parameters such as collision probabilities, impact velocities, and collisional and dynamical lifetimes.

I found that previous calculations of collision probabilities between pairs of asteroids on independent Keplerian orbits often yield inconsistent results. By correcting and improving the formalism, I obtained results which should be accurate for all cases. Applying this formalism, I calculated collision probabilities and impact velocity distributions for single asteroids (e.g. Gaspra, Ida), asteroid populations, and the terrestrial planets with other asteroid populations. These results allowed me to determine asteroid comminution and planetary impact rates.

I also examined the dynamical evolution of asteroids, using a modified Monte-Carlo code. The accuracy of these codes are frequently questioned since, for some planetary encounters on tangential orbits, the two-body scattering approximation is inconsistent with numerical integration results. Thus, to verify the validity of Monte-Carlo results in general, I tracked particle-planetary encounters using a new mapping technique to determine the role of distant perturbations. My results show that Monte-Carlo results yield statistically similar results to numerical integration for all but the most pathological cases, and my model shows why.

Finally, I used this Monte-Carlo model, modified to include impact disruption, asteroid fragmentation after disruption, and observational selection effects to determine the most likely source for a population of small asteroids near the Earth. My results show that main-belt asteroids (via the 3:1 or resonances) are an unlikely source for these objects, as are small bodies ejected from the Earth, Venus, Moon or Mars after a large impact. However, Amor asteroid fragments evolving from low eccentricity Mars-crossing orbits beyond the q = 1.0 AU line provide a reasonable fit to their orbits, making them a probable source.

---

For more information, contact Bill Bottke:bottke@astrosun.tn.cornell.edu

---