Congratulations to Saul Perlmutter -- 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics DOE-Affiliated Researcherby Kate Bannan 05 Oct, 2011 in Science Communications
"For the Discovery of the Accelerating Expansion of the Universe through Observations of Distant Supernovae" The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics to Saul Perlmutter, an astrophysicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor of physics at the University of California at Berkeley. Perlmutter heads the International Supernova Cosmology Project, which pioneered the methods used to discover the accelerating expansion of the universe. Dr. Perlmutter has been a leader in studies to determine the nature of dark energy. Perlmutter shares the prize with Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess, leader of the High-z Supernova Search Team and first author of that team’s analysis, respectively, which led to their almost simultaneous announcement of accelerating expansion, which implies the existence of so-called dark energy, a mysterious force that acts to oppose gravity and increase the distance among galaxies. The nature of dark energy is unknown and has been termed the most important problem facing 21st century physics. It will continue to be studied by cosmologists, astrophysicists and particle physicists. On learning of the award, Perlmutter said, “I am delighted, excited, and deeply honored. It’s wonderful that the Nobel Prize is being awarded for results which reflect humanity’s long quest to understand our world and how we got here. The ideas and discoveries that led to our ability to measure the expansion history of the universe have a truly international heritage, with key contributions from almost every continent and culture. And quite appropriately, our result – the acceleration of the... Related Topics: Berkeley, dark energy, DOE Research & Development (R&D) Accomplishments, Nobel Prize, Perlmutter Read more... |
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