John C. Mather
John C. Mather | |
|---|---|
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| Born | August 7, 1946 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Swarthmore College University of California, Berkeley |
| Known for | Cosmic microwave background radiation |
| Awards |  Nobel Prize in Physics(2006) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics,cosmology |
| Institutions | NASA |
ProfessorJohn Cromwell Mather(born 7 August 1946 inRoanoke, Virginia) is anAmericanastrophysicistandcosmologist.He was given theNobel Prize in Physicsin 2006 for his work oncosmic microwave background radiationandCOBEsatellite withGeorge Smoot.TheCOBEsatellite measuresblack holesandcosmic radiation.
This work supported thebig-bangtheory of theuniversebeginning. It made cosmology much more accurate. The Nobel Prize committee said: "the COBE-project can also be regarded as the starting point forcosmologyas a precision science. "[1]
Mather is a Senior Astrophysicist at theNASAGoddard Space Flight CenterinMaryland.He is a professor of physics at theUniversity of Maryland, College Park.In 2007, Mather was listed inTimemagazine's100 Most Influential People in The World.
Education and early work[change|change source]
- 1964Newton High School,Newton, New Jersey
- 1968B.Sc.(Physics),Swarthmore College
- 1974Ph.D.(Physics),University of California, Berkeley
- 1974-76 (NRC Postdoctoral Fellow),Columbia UniversityGoddard Institute for Space Studies
Work with COBE[change|change source]
After being awarded hisPh.D.Professor Mather went to work at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies at Columbia University. He started the work on COBE there (1974-1976). More than 1,000 researchers, engineers and other workers made the COBE satellite. John Mather was in control of them all and created thetechnologyfor measuring the cosmic radiation.George Smoothad the job of measuring small changes in the temperature of the radiation.[1]
Professor Mather andJohn Bosloughwrote all about the COBE teams work in a book calledThe Very First Light.[2]
Awards[change|change source]
- 1964-68Swarthmore CollegeOpen Scholarship (honorary)
- 1967William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition,30th place nationwide
- 1968-70 NSF Fellowship and honorary Woodrow Wilson Fellowship
- 1970-74 Fellow,Hertz Foundation
- 1974-76 Postdoctoral Fellow,NRC
- 1990NASAGSFCJohn C. Lindsay Memorial Award
- 1991 Rotary National Space Achievement Award
- 1991National Air and Space MuseumTrophy
- 1992Aviation Week and Space TechnologyLaurels for Space/Missiles
- 1993Discover MagazineTechnology Award finalist
- 1993American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space Science Award
- 1993American Astronomical SocietyandAmerican Institute of PhysicsDannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics
- 1994 Fellow,Goddard Space Flight Center
- 1994Doctor of Science,honoris causa,Swarthmore College
- 1995City of PhiladelphiaJohn Scott Award
- 1996American Academy of Arts and SciencesRumford Prize
- 1996 Fellow,American Physical Society
- 1997Aviation Week and Space TechnologyHall of Fame
- 1997 Member,National Academy of Sciences
- 1998Marc AaronsonMemorial Prize
- 1998 Member,American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1999Franklin InstituteBenjamin Franklin Medal in Physics
- 2005Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation EngineersGeorge W. Goddard Award
- 2006Peter and Patricia Gruber FoundationPrize in Cosmology
- 2006Nobel Prize in Physics
- 2007 Fellow,SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Related pages[change|change source]
References[change|change source]
- ↑1.01.1"The Nobel Prize in Physics 2006"(.PDF)(Press release). The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 3 October 2006.Retrieved2006-10-05.
- ↑Mather, John; Boslough, John (1997).The Very First Light: The True Inside Story of the Scientific Journey Back to the Dawn of the Universe.New York: Basic Books.ISBN0465015751.
Other websites[change|change source]
- John C. Mather biographyat theGoddard Space Flight Center
- Interview with John Mather from the SPIE Newsroom
- Berkeley lab article
- Mather's group's data that led to the Nobel Prizeinsymmetrymagazine.
- John C. Mather on the Infancy of the Universe at the National Academy of SciencesArchived2011-07-16 at theWayback Machine
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