Markus Böttcher is an astrophysicist. He received his undergraduate
and graduate education in the University of Bonn, Germany, where he
obtained his Physics Diploma in 1994 and Ph.D. in 1997. He did his
postdoctoral stint at Rice University in Houston, TX, from 1997 to
2002, including 3 years (1999-2002) as a Chandra postdoctoral fellow.
Böttcher is a ``proud member'' of the Ohio University Physics and
Astronomy faculty since the fall of 2002.
High-energy processes in the relativistic outflows (jets) from supermassive black holes in the centers of active galaxies, Galactic black holes, and gamma-ray bursts are his primary research interests. His research involves both theoretical and observational projects.
On the theoretical front, Böttcher aims to unravel the mechanisms that drive the photon-frequency-dependent variability of astrophysical jet sources through analytical approaches as well as numerical simulations.
On the observational front, he performs optical monitoring of blazars and other rapidly variable objects at the MDM observatory on Kitt Peak, Arizona. The aim of these observations is to characterize the variability of blazars and the associated spectral changes for comparison with his theoretical predictions. His observing projects often involve simultaneous observations in radio, infrared, X-ray, and gamma-ray frequency ranges, and the coordination of international observing campaigns through collaboration with optical observers around the world.
Böttcher's statement regarding teaching: ``The more you learn through experiencing and researching yourself, the more you will indulge in the subject, and the more you will take away from your learning experience. Wherever possible, I will let you, the students, explore resources and find answers to the relevant questions yourselves. Particularly in astronomy, current research is yielding many new results that shake the very foundations of our basic understanding of the universe around us. That's what makes astronomy an exciting science, and what gives us an opportunity to learn things that are not dusty, 100-year old text-book stuff, but rather new research results. And quite often, you can be the first generation of students learning in our classes about something that NASA or ESA explorations of space have just discovered. Allow yourself to be captured by this excitement and you will enjoy learning about physics and astronomy!''.
Favorite quote ouside of science: ``Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country (John F. Kennedy)''.
If not at his desk (or in the class room or in committee meetings), you may find him running with his dog Sheila, playing chess, or taking care of his vegetable garden.
Böttcher is the recipient of ``The Jeanette Grasselli Brown Faculty Teaching Award in 2006-2007''.
