Paul S. Wesson


Paul S. Wesson, B.Sc., Ph.D., D.Sc., F.R.A.S was a professor of astrophysics and theoretical physics.
WWW Official Site

Education and career

He studied at the University of London and University of Cambridge, then spent most of his career at the University of Waterloo. He also spent sabbatical leaves at the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University. In his later years, he worked with the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics. He supervised numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and served as Science Director of the California Institute for Physics and Astronomy.

Interests and research

His scientific interests were broad, ranging from a seismic survey of Afghanistan to guest lectures and media interviews on the Big Bang in America. He published over 300 works, including nine textbooks and three science-fiction novels. Most of his articles appeared in the standard journals for astronomy and theoretical physics, but he also wrote pieces for New Scientist and other magazines of popular science. In later years, he characterized his research as concentrating on two subjects:
The intensity of background light between galaxies depends on their luminosity and age, versus the redshift effect and the expansion of the universe. It was possible to use observations and a mathematical model to determine various astrophysical quantities, including the age of the universe and the nature of dark matter and dark energy. This approach also resolves the notorious problem of why the night sky is so dark, or Olbers' paradox.
The general theory of relativity due to Einstein can be extended from four to five dimensions, where the extra dimension measures mass. This kind of 5D theory, a modified Kaluza–Klein theory, avoids problems of older versions and has gained a considerable following as a means of accounting for matter. A major discovery is that while the universe may have a big-bang singularity in 4D, it is smooth in 5D.
In addition to the above-outlined subjects, Wesson was interested in geophysics, bioastronomy, and the philosophy of science.

Science books