Talk:Roy Kerr

M.Sc. wherewhen?
Roy Kerr could not have received an M.Sc. from St Andrew's College because in Christchurch that is a secondary institution, ie., it is a high school. Perhaps that degree was really from Canterbury University College, as the University of Canterbury was then known.


 * Hi, if you are in NZ, Kerr must be a local legend in Canterbury. Any chance you can ask someone in the physics department if they know? ---CH  (talk) 01:23, 16 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Sadly, Roy Kerr's research is really not that well-known in Canterbury. I doubt he would be considered a "local legend". Whatever celebrity he had was due more to his position as HoD of the Maths department, and of course he hasn't held that position for a number of years. The only reason I ever heard anything about Kerr when I was growing up (in Christchurch) was as a result of my own personal ties to the Canterbury Maths Dept. --Allan McInnes (talk) 19:54, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Me again who added the comment about St Andrews, and I just made a possibly too-wordy update about Kerr's UNZ degree. (Probably he would have needed a B.Sc. before an M.Sc.) I'm a University of Canterbury Computer Science grad living in Silicon Valley, not Maths or Physics. There's a story about Kerr at http://www.comsdev.canterbury.ac.nz/canterbury/Canterbury0402.pdf

Students beware
I extensively rewrote the August 2005 version of this article and had been monitoring it for bad edits, but I am leaving the WP and am now abandoning this article to its fate.

Just wanted to provide notice that I am only responsible (in part) for the last version I edited; see User:Hillman/Archive. I emphatically do not vouch for anything you might see in more recent versions, although I hope for the best.

Good luck in your search for information, regardless!---CH 03:45, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

Important correction(s)
In the original version http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roy_Kerr&oldid=20517806, in lieu of my original plan to einterview Kerr, I relied upon the sources I cited. Kerr himself has just repudiated a rumor which I unfortunately repeated in an extremely valuable eprint http://www.arxiv.org/abs/0706.1109 which should be added forthwith as an external link. Apologies to all! ---CH 00:31, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

Bridge playing career
Arguably, a noteworthy aspect of Roy Kerr's life is his bridge playing career. He played for New Zealand in World Championship events. He also (with Walt Jones) invented the Symmetric Relay bidding system, which is the basis of most relay systems in use today. Shouldn't this be added to his biography? 203.20.255.5 (talk) 04:45, 19 April 2010 (UTC)


 * This does seem noteworthy. Can somebody provide a reference to the above? --DFRussia (talk) 16:08, 31 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Done. Newwhist (talk) 01:56, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

Born where?
The article states he was born in Gore, while there are references that claim he was born in Kurow:

 http://www.comsdev.canterbury.ac.nz/rss/news/?articleId=1739 http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Kerr_Roy.html http://www.britannica.com/biography/Roy-P-Kerr 

There are other references that list Gore as his place of birth so this is clearly a matter of some confusion:

 https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=4agzG6q2GYgC http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/8372542/Bright-sparks-and-black-holes 

118.92.76.143 (talk) 03:54, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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Kerr during the Tower killings
Is this worth adding to the bio? Kerr was in his office, with George F. R. Ellis when the Texas Tower gunman started his shootings. Ellis stuck his head out Kerr's window, noticed people screaming and falling down, and ducked back inside. There is an unfortunate General Relativity connection, in that Robert H. Boyer was killed He was passing through UT to talk to other relativists. Source: Cracking the Einstein Code.

I would be curious regarding the geometry of his (first-floor) office in regards to the tower. 2607:F470:E:22:D9AB:EA9:C4C5:1512 (talk) 19:44, 22 February 2023 (UTC)

Kerr's daughter
Kerr had a daughter. In coming to the US, Kerr and his wife were subject to full-body X-ray exams. That's when they learned Margaret was pregnant. Baby Susan proved to be microcephalic and was eventually institutionalized and died at age 7. See regarding the dangers of X-raying a pregnant women's abdomen. Source: Cracking the Einstein Code. 2607:F470:E:22:D9AB:EA9:C4C5:1512 (talk) 19:54, 22 February 2023 (UTC)