Wayne Neil Edwards was born in London, Ontario, on 1977-07-23. He attended Cleardale Public School and H.B. Beal Secondary School, then did an undergraduate degree in Astronomy and Geophysics (Planetary Science) at Western University. He wrote an undergraduate thesis on "Modelling of Lunar Gravity Anomalies" and graduated with Distinction in 2000. Then Edwards went on to the University of Calgary, where he earned a Master of Science degree in Geophysics in 2003. His thesis topic was "Location of meteor terminal bursts using seismic arrivals of airwaves." Returning to Western, Edwards did a Ph.D., also in Geophysics, with his thesis "Estimating meteoroid kinetic energies using infrasonic and seismic recordings of meteor generated sound" in 2008. After a short term as a post-doctoral researcher at Western, studying the entry dynamics of meteors, fireballs and bolides, and specializing in the study of meteor-generated low-frequency infrasound, Edwards took up a position as research scientist with the Canadian Hazards Information Service, a branch of the federal government in Ottawa. He used estimates of meteoroid kinetic energies and sizes to constrain the flux of interplanetary material at the Earth, the recurrence rate of Tunguska-type impactors, and the physics of the process of atmospheric entry and ablation. His research also included the study of the artificial re-entries of the Genesis and Stardust sample return capsules, as well as the complex interaction between the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth when atmospheric sound waves couple to ground and are recorded as seismic surface waves. He helped analyze the flux and energy of the Chelyabinsk airburst.

Edwards passed away in Ottawa on 2016-07-31. His obituary is
https://web.archive.org/web/20180113034104/http://www.westviewfuneralcha...

Orbit type: Main Belt Asteroid

Reference: MPC 89077