1934– · General Relativity, Black Holes, Astrophysics
A New Zealand mathematician and physicist who discovered the Kerr metric — an exact solution to Einstein's equations describing a rotating black hole. This solution is critically important for astrophysical models.
Biography
Graduated from the University of New Zealand, then Cambridge. Worked at the University of Texas at Austin. He obtained his famous solution in 1963. Awards: Crafoord Prize, Albert Einstein Medal.
Key discoveries
Kerr metric for a rotating black hole.
Kerr–Newman metric for a charged rotating black hole.
Concept of the ergosphere and the frame-dragging effect.
💡 Kerr spent so long solving the equations that his colleagues joked: 'Roy will appear with the metric only when black holes start rotating.'
"He defined mathematics as the art of giving the same name to different things."