Thomas W. Baumgarte

Thomas W. Baumgarte is a Professor and William R. Kenan Professor of Physics, and Chair of the Physics Department at Bowdoin College. His theoretical physics research focuses on numerical relativity, gravitational collapse, and the dynamics of black holes, particularly intermediate-mass and subsolar-mass populations. He performs fully relativistic simulations of head-on collisions between intermediate-mass black holes and massive stars, and studies the formation of black holes via stellar collapse induced by primordial black holes. His recent work also models primordial black holes captured by neutron stars in general relativity. He has been recognized with numerous National Science Foundation RUI grants for studies in numerical relativity, most recently in 2026, supporting his leading numerical simulations in strong-field gravity.