Churchwell, Edward B. AST 96-17686 Dr. Churchwell will study the formation processes and early evolution of massive stars in our Galaxy using a variety of observational techniques in the radio and infrared. His research program focuses on a study of the environment of ultra compact HII regions, the earliest manifestations of high mass stars. He will use observations of molecular lines in the radio and the infrared to investigate the velocity structure, chemistry, energetics, and physical conditions in the gas near these stars. He is particularly interested in understanding the properties of molecular outflows and the accompanying accretion disks believed to be associated with young massive stars during their formation. ***
