Laureates

Princeton University

2018 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

For detailed maps of the early universe that greatly improved our knowledge of the evolution of the cosmos and the fluctuations that seeded the formation of galaxies.

Comments

I have been extremely fortunate in my career. Thirty years ago we could not have predicted the blossoming of modern cosmology and the richness unveiled with ever improving measurements of the cosmic microwave background. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with an extraordinary group of teachers, mentors, colleagues, and students. Professor LaCasce’s introductory physics class at Bowdoin College got me hooked. Years after I graduated from college, Rai Weiss let me work in his lab after walking in off the street, guided me into graduate school at MIT, and set me to work on the CMB. Steve Meyer was a superb thesis advisor. I learned experimental physics at his side. Then Dave Wilkinson mentored and opened doors for me at Princeton. I walked by his office in the early 1990s, and he asked if I wanted to work on a satellite project with him. It was the scientific experience of a lifetime, made all the better because I was working with wonderful colleagues on the Science Team and at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Foremost, I am grateful for the love, support, and encouragement of my family, especially my wife.