4800 Oak Grove Drive
M/S 169-506
Dr. Turner's research centers on the origins of the planets in the disks of gas and dust orbiting young stars. He uses 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, Hubble and Herschel Space Telescopes, as well as in planning for future missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope. He has also worked on the outflows from young stars, the compositions of the comets, and the accretion of gas by black holes. He 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.