Arno Allan Penzias

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Arno Allan Penzias
Cosmic microwave background radiation
Spouse
Sherry Levit
​
(m. 1996)​
Children5
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
Institutions
ThesisA tunable maser radiometer and the measurement of 21 cm line emission from free hydrogen in the Pegasus I cluster of galaxies (1962)
Doctoral advisorCharles H. Townes
Doctoral studentsPierre Encrenaz
Part of a series on
Physical cosmology
Early universe
Backgrounds
Expansion · Future
Components · Structure
Components
Structure
Experiments
Scientists
Subject history

Arno Allan Penzias (

cosmic microwave background radiation, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics
in 1978.

Early life and education

Penzias was born in

naturalized citizen of the United States.[5]

He graduated from

U.S. Army Signal Corps.[2] This led to a research assistantship in the Columbia University Radiation Laboratory, which was then heavily involved in microwave physics. Penzias worked under Charles H. Townes, who later invented the maser.[5] Penzias enrolled as a graduate student at Columbia University in 1956, where he earned a master's degree and a PhD in physics, the latter in 1962.[7]

Career

Penzias went on to work at

Ralph Asher Alpher, Robert Herman and George Gamow
in the 1940s and 1950s.

Penzias and Wilson stand at the 15-meter Holmdel Horn Antenna that brought their most notable discovery.

Personal life

Penzias was a resident of Highland Park, New Jersey, in the 1990s.[11] In 1996, Penzias married Silicon Valley executive Sherry Levit.[3] He had a son, David, and two daughters, Mindy Penzias Dirks, and Rabbi Shifra (Laurie) Weiss-Penzias.[12] Penzias also had a stepson, Carson, and a stepdaughter, Victoria.[3]

Penzias died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at an assisted living facility in San Francisco, on January 22, 2024, at the age of 90.[3]

Honors and awards

Penzias was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Achievement.[17] He was also the recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence. In 1998, he was awarded the IRI Medal from the Industrial Research Institute
.

On April 26, 2019, the Nürnberger Astronomische Gesellschaft e.V. (NAG) inaugurated the 3-meter radio telescope at the Regiomontanus-Sternwarte, the public observatory of Nuremberg, and dedicated this instrument to Arno Penzias.[18]

On September 11, 2023, the Radio Club of America said that Penzias would be honored with the inauguration of the "Dr. Arno A. Penzias Award for Contributions to Basic Research in the Radio Sciences." The club said the award recognizes his significant contributions to basic research involving radio frequency and related subjects and that it would inspire future generations of scientific professionals. The club also announced that the first recipient of the new award will be named in 2024.[19]

Works

  • Wilson, R. W.; Penzias, A. A. (1967). "Isotropy of Cosmic Background Radiation at 4080 Megahertz". Science. 156 (3778): 1100–1101.
    S2CID 46069151
    .
  • Penzias, A. A.; Wilson, R. W. (1970). "Microwave Noise from Rainstorms". Science. 169 (3945): 583–584.
    S2CID 7066298
    .
  • Penzias, Arno A. (1979). "The Origin of the Elements". Science. 205 (4406): 549–554.
    PMID 17729659
    .
  • Penzias, Arno A. (1980). "Nuclear Processing and Isotopes in the Galaxy". Science. 208 (4445): 663–669.
    S2CID 22381508
    .

See also

References

  1. OCLC 30781516
    .
  2. ^ a b Neuman, Scott (January 24, 2024). "Arno Penzias, co-discoverer of the Big Bang's afterglow, dies at age 90". NPR. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Hafner, Katie (January 22, 2024). "Arno A. Penzias, 90, Dies; Nobel Physicist Confirmed Big Bang Theory". The New York Times. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Arno Allan Penzias on Nobelprize.org Edit this at Wikidata including the Nobel Lecture, December 8, 1978 The Origin of Elements
  5. ^ a b Weil, Martin (January 23, 2024). "Nobel laureate Arno Penzias dies at 90; helped find traces of Big Bang". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  6. ^ "Dr. Arno Penzias '51". Brooklyn Technical High School. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  7. ^ "Arno Allan Penzias". IEEE Global History Network. IEEE. Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  8. ^ "Nobel-prize winning accidents". Phys.org. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  9. doi:10.1086/148307
    .
  10. ^ Lehrer, Jonah (December 21, 2009). "The Neuroscience of Screwing up". Wired. Archived from the original on December 29, 2009. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
  11. ^ Horner, Shirley (October 3, 1993). "About Books". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
  12. ^ Schlessinger B., Bernard S. and June H., Who's Who of Nobel Prize Winners, 1901–1990, (Oryx Press, 1991) p. 203
  13. ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter P" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 15, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  14. ^ "Arno A. Penzias". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  15. ^ "Henry Draper Medal". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  16. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1978". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  17. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. Academy of Achievement. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  18. ^ "Fachgruppe Radioastronomie | Einweihung des Radioteleskops: Ein Nobelpreisträger steht Pate und der Ministerpräsident gibt das Startsignal". Astronomische Gesellschaft in der Metropolregion Nürnberg. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  19. ^ "RCA Announces 2023 Award and Fellow Recipients". Retrieved October 7, 2023.

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