John C. Mather

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.

John Cromwell Mather
Mather in 2015
Born (1946-08-07) August 7, 1946
Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.
Alma materSwarthmore College
University of California, Berkeley
Known forCosmic microwave background radiation studies
AwardsDannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics (1993)
Nobel Prize in Physics (2006)
Scientific career
FieldsAstrophysics, cosmology
InstitutionsNASA
University of Maryland
Columbia University
Doctoral advisorPaul L. Richards
Signature

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, Time magazine listed Mather among the 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 the 25 most influential people in space.

Mather is one of the 20 American recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics to sign a letter addressed to President George W. Bush in May 2008, urging him to "reverse the damage done to basic science research in the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill" by requesting additional emergency funding for the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.[2]

Mather is also the senior project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a space telescope launched to Lagrange point L2 on December 25, 2021.

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

Education and initial research
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Subject history
  • Discovery of cosmic microwave
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Honors and awards
  • 1964-1968 Swarthmore College Open Scholarship (honorary)
  • 1967 William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, 30th place nationwide
  • 1968 Highest possible score (990), physics Grad Records
  • 1968-1970 NSF Fellowship and honorary Woodrow Wilson Fellowship
  • 1970-1974 Fellow, Hertz Foundation
  • 1974-1976 Postdoctoral Fellow, NRC
  • 1990 NASA GSFC John C. Lindsay Memorial Award
  • 1991 Rotary National Space Achievement Award
  • 1991 National Air and Space Museum Trophy
  • 1992 Aviation Week and Space Technology Laurels for Space/Missiles
  • 1993 Discover Magazine Technology Award finalist
  • 1993 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space Science Award
  • 1993 American Astronomical Society and American Institute of Physics Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics
  • 1994 Fellow, Goddard Space Flight Center
  • 1994 Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Swarthmore College
  • 1995 City of Philadelphia John Scott Award
  • 1996 American Academy of Arts and Sciences Rumford Prize
  • 1996 Fellow, American Physical Society
  • 1997 Aviation Week and Space Technology Hall of Fame
  • 1997 Member, National Academy of Sciences
  • 1998 Marc Aaronson Memorial Prize
  • 1998 Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 1999 Franklin Institute Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics
  • 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers George W. Goddard Award
  • 2006 Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation Prize in Cosmology
  • 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics
  • 2007 Fellow, SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
  • 2007 American Academy of Achievement, Golden Plate Award [4]
  • 2008 Robinson Prize[5]
  • 2008 Doctor of Science, honoris causa, University of Maryland
  • 2008, Commencement Speaker, University of Maryland Winter Commencement
  • 2010 India General President Gold Medal[6]
  • 2010 Fellow of the Optical Society of America
  • 2011 Doctor of Science, honoris causa, University of Notre Dame[7]
  • 2020 Elected a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society.[8]

Publications

Appearances

Mather is the Science Director of the National Academy of Future Scientists and Technologists.

References
  1. "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2006" (Press release). The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 3 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
  2. "A Letter from America's Physics Nobel Laureates" (PDF).
  3. John C. Mather on Nobelprize.org , accessed 30 April 2020 "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."
  4. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  5. "NASA - Goddard Space Science is the Place for Awards This Season".
  6. "PM gives away awards to prominent scientists". PIB. Government of India. 3 January 2010. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.
  7. University of Notre Dame. "Honorary Degrees". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
  8. "AAS Fellows". AAS. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
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