William Bottke

Dr. William F. Bottke Jr. is the assistant director of the Space Studies Department in Southwest Research Institute's Planetary Science Directorate, located in Boulder, Colo.

Bottke, who joined the SwRI staff in 2000, is a known expert in the study of asteroids, comets and meteorites. His recent work includes projects to understand the evolution of near-Earth and main belt asteroids as well as the origin and delivery of meteorites to Earth.

Bottke is the author of 80 peer-reviewed papers and numerous presentations. The asteroid 7355 Bottke was named after him in honor of his work in this area. He is a member of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences, the American Geophysical Union and Tau Beta Pi.

Bottke holds bachelor's degrees in physics and astrophysics from the University of Minnesota and a doctorate in planetary sciences from the University of Arizona.