My research centers on the origins of the planets in the disks of gas and dust orbiting young stars. I use computer calculations to model the gas flows in the disks, the heating and chemical reactions of the primordial materials, and the concentration of the dust particles leading to the growth of larger solid bodies. The models' appearance is calculated with detailed radiative transfer methods and the results are used to understand the measurements of protostellar disks returned by the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes, as well as in planning for future missions including the Herschel Space Observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Space Interferometry Mission. I have also worked on the outflows from young stars, the compositions of the comets, and the accretion of gas by black holes. I made the first direct numerical calculations of black hole disks to include both the magnetic forces driving accretion and the photon diffusion that cools the gas.

• Ph.D., Astrophysics, University of California at Santa Cruz (1998)
• B.Sc. (Hons), Physics, University of Sydney, Australia (1991)

• Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2003-Present)
  • Research Scientist (2007-Present)
  • Scientist (2005-2007)
  • National Research Council Fellow (2003-2005)
• Research Associate, University of California at Santa Barbara (2002-2003)
• Research Associate, University of Maryland at College Park (1999-2002)

1. Dead Zone Accretion Flows in Protostellar Disks. Turner N. J. & Sano T. 2008, Astrophys. J. Letters, 679, 131.
2. Kinematics of Solid Particles in a Turbulent Protoplanetary Disc. Carballido A., Stone J. M. & Turner N. J. 2008, Mon. Not. Royal Astron. Soc.,386, 145.
3. Probing Interstellar Dust With Space-Based Coronagraphs. Turner N. J., Grogan K. & Breckinridge J. B. 2008, Astrophys. J. Suppl., 177, 355.
4. Photon Bubbles in the Circumstellar Envelopes Around Young Massive Stars. Turner N. J., Quataert E. & Yorke H. W. 2007, Astrophys. J., 662, 1052.
5. Turbulent Mixing and the Dead Zone in Protostellar Disks. Turner N. J., Sano T. & Dziourkevitch N. 2007, Astrophys. J., 659, 729.
6. Turbulent Mixing in the Outer Solar Nebula. Turner N. J., Willacy K., Bryden G. & Yorke H. W. 2006, Astrophys. J., 639, 1218.
7. The Effects of Photon Bubble Instability in Radiation-Dominated Accretion Disks. Turner N. J., Blaes O. M., Socrates A., Begelman M. C. & Davis S. W. 2005, Astrophys. J., 624, 267.
8. On the Vertical Structure of Radiation-Dominated Accretion Disks. Turner N. J. 2004, Astrophys. J. Letters, 605, 45.
9. Local Axisymmetric Simulations of Magneto-Rotational Instability in Radiation-Dominated Accretion Disks. Turner N. J., Stone J. M. & Sano T. 2002, Astrophys. J., 566, 148.
10. Driving Outflows From Young Stars Through the Effects of Internal Disk Fields. Turner N. J., Bodenheimer P. & Rozyczka M. 1999, Astrophys. J., 524, 129.
11. 300-580 nm Long-Slit Spectroscopy of Comet Tabur (1996 Q1). Turner N. J. & Smith G. H. 1999, Astron. J., 118, 3039.
12. Models of the Spectral Energy Distributions of FU Orionis Stars. Turner N. J., Bodenheimer P. & Bell K. R. 1997, Astrophys. J., 480, 754.