William M. Wolf

William M. Wolf serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy within the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He is affiliated with the Blugold Center for High Performance Computing and is currently on sabbatical for the 2025–2026 academic year.

His educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
• M.A. in Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
• B.S. in Physics, Eastern Illinois University
• B.A. in Mathematics, Eastern Illinois University

Wolf specializes in computational stellar astrophysics, particularly modeling classical and recurrent novae through thermonuclear runaway simulations. His research leverages the open-source MESA software framework to investigate white dwarf evolution, supernova progenitors, and galactic chemical enrichment. As a core MESA developer, he bridges theoretical modeling with observational astronomy to explain transient phenomena visible across galaxies.

Analysis of his 12 publications (2014–2023) reveals consistent focus on stellar evolution codes, nova/supernova mechanisms, and white dwarf physics. Key trends include MESA code development for pulsating stars and convection modeling, plus observational studies of supersoft X-ray sources and recurrent novae. His work increasingly integrates multi-wavelength data with high-performance computing.

Major recognitions include:

• NSF CAREER Award (2023): $526,813 for "Mixing and Oscillations in Novae"
• NASA Astrophysics Theory Program Grant (2024): $423,518 as Co-Investigator for "A New Paradigm for Supersoft X-ray Oscillations of Novae"

Wolf mentors students in computational astrophysics projects using campus high-performance resources. His grant portfolio exceeds $950,000, supporting research on nova oscillations and supersoft source modeling. Future work targets MESA enhancements for supernova progenitor studies and recurrent nova recurrence mechanisms.

He actively contributes to the international MESA developer team and collaborates on multi-institutional projects studying white dwarf binaries and transient events through facilities like Swift and iPTF.