Dr. Paul Ho, at Harvard University, will concentrate on three problems associated with the formation of massive stars from molecular clouds: (1) Spin-up and contraction of cloud fragments in the early stages of star formation; (2) Formation and structure of disks of material, especially in regions of outflowing gas; and (3) Formation and evolution of cloud cores through interactions with shock fronts and stellar winds. Dr. Ho's research is primarily observational, and he uses data on spectral lines of interstellar molecules at radio wavelengths to study the characteristics of the cloud cores. In the past few years, dense cores of interstellar molecular clouds have been shown to be closely associated with active star formation. Dr. Ho is concentrating his observational research efforts on the more massive cloud cores. His studies are important in defining the latter stages of star formation and in identifying the crucial mechanisms which control the star formation process.
