Prof. Mark Whittle was born and educated in England, obtaining a bachelor's degree in Physics at Oxford and a PhD in Astronomy at Cambridge. Following post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Arizona and at Jesus College Cambridge, Prof. Whittle joined the Faculty of the Astronomy Department at the University of Virginia.
Prof. Whittle teaches introductory astronomy courses to non-science majors, as well as a graduate course on Extragalactic Astronomy. He enjoys participating in public lectures, observatory open nights, and other public outreach activities.
In his research, Prof. Whittle uses large optical and radio telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, to study processes occurring within 1000 light years of the central supermassive black hole in Active Galaxies. His most recent interests focus on the way in which fast moving jets of gas, which are driven out of the active nucleus, subsequently smash into, accelerate, and generally "damage" the surrounding galactic material.
Mark Whittle's Home Page
