Nobel Prize awarded for discoveries in cosmology
Cosmologist Jim Peebles won the Nobel Prize in Physics for work that contributed to our modern understanding of the universe. Continue Reading →
Category: Astrophysical Sciences
AI accelerates fusion energy research
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory are using AI to forecast disruptions that can halt fusion reactions. Continue Reading →
Engine of cosmic evolution: Eve Ostriker looks under the hood
By Catherine Zandonella Outside Eve Ostriker’s office door stretches the universe, dotted with orange galaxies against the black backdrop of space. The mural lines the hallway in Princeton’s astrophysical sciences building, where it inspires Ostriker Continue Reading →
Gillian Knapp receives presidential award for STEM mentorship
By Emily Aronson Gillian Knapp, an emeritus professor of astrophysical sciences and senior scholar, has received the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. Knapp taught at Princeton for Continue Reading →
Princeton part of $40 million Simons Observatory
PRINCETON RESEARCHERS will have an integral role in the Simons Observatory, a new astronomy facility in South America recently established with a $38.4 million grant from the Simons Foundation. The observatory will investigate cosmic microwave Continue Reading →
The Cosmic Web: Mysterious Architecture of the Universe
Author: J. Richard Gott Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2016 (available February) Professor of Astrophysics J. Richard Gott was among the first cosmologists to propose that the structure of our universe is like a sponge made Continue Reading →
JEREMIAH OSTRIKER and LYMAN PAGE receive Gruber Cosmology Prize
The 2015 Gruber Foundation Cosmology Prize has been awarded to Jeremiah Ostriker and Lyman Page for “individual and collective contributions to the study of the universe on the largest scales.” The two share the prize Continue Reading →
Cosmic background: 51 years ago, an accidental discovery sparked a big bang in astrophysics
ON NEW YEAR’S DAY 2015, A BALLOON-BORNE SPACECRAFT ascended above Antarctica and snapped crisp photos of space, unobscured by the humidity of Earth’s atmosphere. Meanwhile, a telescope located 4,000 miles to the north, in the Continue Reading →
Star formation, black holes focus of new research
TWO NEW RESEARCH NETWORKS IN ASTROPHYSICS got off the ground this year, one to explore how stars form and the other to study how black holes accumulate matter, with the goal of answering fundamental questions Continue Reading →
The Planet Hunters
From Gáspár Bakos’ desk at Princeton, he can see everything that happens at his telescopes on three continents. He can see wild burros nuzzle at the cables in Chile, warthogs wander by in Namibia, and Continue Reading →
Jeremiah Ostriker named White House Champion of Change
Jeremiah Ostriker, the Charles. A. Young Professor of Astronomy on the Class of 1897 Foundation, Emeritus, was recognized as one of 13 White House Champions of Change during a ceremony at the White House for Continue Reading →