John C. Mather

John Cromwell Mather
John C. Mather (March 2015)
Born (1946-08-07) August 7, 1946
Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Residence United States
Nationality United States
Alma mater Swarthmore College
University of California, Berkeley
Known for Cosmic microwave background radiation studies
Awards Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics (1993)
Nobel Prize in Physics (2006)
Scientific career
Fields Astrophysics, cosmology
Institutions NASA
University of Maryland
Doctoral advisor Paul L. Richards

John Cromwell Mather (born August 7, 1946, Roanoke, Virginia) is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) with George Smoot.

This work helped cement the big-bang theory of the universe. According to the Nobel Prize committee, "the COBE-project can also be regarded as the starting point for cosmology as a precision science."[1]

Mather is a senior astrophysicist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland and adjunct professor of physics at the University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. In 2007, Mather was listed among Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World. In October, 2012, he was listed again by Time magazine in a special issue on New Space Discoveries as one of 25 most influential people in space.

Mather is also the project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a space telescope scheduled to be launched to Lagrange Point L2 in March of 2021.

In 2014, Mather delivered an address on the Webb Space Telescope at the second Starmus Festival in the Canary Islands.

Education and initial research

Honors and awards

Publications

Appearances

Mather is the Science Director of the National Academy of Future Scientists and Technologists. He has been a keynote speaker at the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders (2015, 2016).

References

  1. ↑ "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2006" (Press release). The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 3 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
  2. ↑ John C. Mather autobiography, Nobel Prize. Accessed June 29, 2008. "When I finished 8th grade, it was time to go to high school, and my parents decided to send me to Newton High School, where they thought we would get the best available education in our area."
  3. ↑ University of Notre Dame. "Honorary Degrees". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
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