John Cromwell Mather (born August 7, 1946,

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...

) is an American astrophysicist,

cosmologist Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

and

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

laureate for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) with George Smoot. This work helped cement the

big-bang The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...

theory of the universe. According to the Nobel Prize committee, "the COBE-project can also be regarded as the starting point for

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

as a precision science." Mather is a senior astrophysicist at the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...

(GSFC) in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

and adjunct professor of physics at the

University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) at the University of Maryland, College Park, is home to ten academic departments and a dozen interdisciplinary research centers and institutes. CMNS is one of 13 schools and colleg ...

. 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 A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...

Office of Science The Office of Science is a component of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The Office of Science is the lead federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for energy and the Nation’s largest supporter of basic research in t ...

, the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

, and the

National Institute of Standards and Technology The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical s ...

. Mather is also the senior project scientist for the

James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope which conducts infrared astronomy. As the largest optical telescope in space, its high resolution and sensitivity allow it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Sp ...

(JWST), a space telescope launched to

Lagrange point In celestial mechanics, the Lagrange points (; also Lagrangian points or libration points) are points of equilibrium for small-mass objects under the influence of two massive orbiting bodies. Mathematically, this involves the solution of t ...

L2 on December 25, 2021. In 2014, Mather delivered an address on the James Webb Space Telescope at the second

Starmus Festival The Starmus International Festival is an international gathering focused on celebrating astronomy, space exploration, music, art, and other sciences such as biology and chemistry. It was founded by Garik Israelian, an astronomer at the Institu ...

in the Canary Islands.

Education and initial research

* 1964 Newton High School, Newton, New Jersey * 1968 B.Sc. (Physics),

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as ...

(Highest Honors) * 1974 Ph.D. (Physics),

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

* 1974-1976 (NRC Postdoctoral Fellow),

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Goddard Institute for Space Studies The Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) is a laboratory in the Earth Sciences Division of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center affiliated with the Columbia University Earth Institute. The institute is located at Columbia University in ...

Honors and awards

* 1964-1968

Open Scholarship (honorary) * 1967

William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, often abbreviated to Putnam Competition, is an annual mathematics competition for undergraduate college students enrolled at institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada (regar ...

, 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 The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation is an American non-profit organization that awards fellowships to Ph.D. students in the applied physical, biological and engineering sciences. The fellowship provides $250,000 of support over five years. The ...

* 1974-1976 Postdoctoral Fellow, NRC * 1990

GSFC The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...

John C. Lindsay Memorial Award * 1991 Rotary National Space Achievement Award * 1991

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the N ...

Trophy * 1992

Aviation Week and Space Technology ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviati ...

Laurels for Space/Missiles * 1993

Discover Magazine ''Discover'' is an American general audience science magazine launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It has been owned by Kalmbach Publishing since 2010. History Founding ''Discover'' was created primarily through the efforts of ''Time'' m ...

Technology Award finalist * 1993 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space Science Award * 1993

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

and

American Institute of Physics The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...

Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics The Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics is jointly awarded each year by the American Astronomical Society and American Institute of Physics for outstanding work in astrophysics. It is funded by the Heineman Foundation in honour of Dannie Heine ...

* 1994 Fellow,

* 1994

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

, ''

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'', Swarthmore College * 1995

City of Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

John Scott Award * 1996

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

Rumford Prize * 1996 Fellow,

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

* 1997

Hall of Fame * 1997 Member,

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

* 1998

Marc Aaronson Marc Aaronson (24 August 1950 – 30 April 1987) was an American astronomer. Life Aaronson was born in Los Angeles. He was educated at the California Institute of Technology, where he received a BS in 1972. He completed his Ph.D. in 1977 ...

Memorial Prize * 1998 Member,

* 1999

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics * 2005

Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers SPIE (formerly the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, later the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) is an international not-for-profit professional society for optics and photonics technology, founded in 1955. It ...

George W. Goddard Award * 2006 Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation Prize in Cosmology * 2006

* 2007 Fellow,

SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering SPIE (formerly the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, later the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) is an international not-for-profit professional society for optics and photonics technology, founded in 1955. It ...

* 2007

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

, Golden Plate Award * 2008 Robinson Prize * 2008

, ''

'', University of Maryland * 2008, Commencement Speaker,

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

Winter Commencement * 2010 India General President Gold Medal * 2010 Fellow of the Optical Society of America * 2011

, ''

'', University of Notre Dame *2020 Elected a Legacy Fellow of the

Publications

* Mather, J. C.
"Far Infrared Spectrometry of the Cosmic Background Radiation"
University of California Berkeley,

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), commonly referred to as the Berkeley Lab, is a United States national laboratory that is owned by, and conducts scientific research on behalf of, the United States Department of Energy. Located in ...

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States ...

(through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (Jan. 1974). * Mather, J. C.; Albrecht, A.; et al.
"Report of the Dark Energy Task Force"

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. Since 2007, Fermilab has been operat ...

, (2006). * Mather, J. C.;Boslough, John; the very first light; 1996,2008 Basic Books

Appearances

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

References

External links

*
John C. Mather biography
at the

Interview with John Mather from the SPIE Newsroom

Mather's group's data that led to the Nobel Prize
in ''symmetry'' magazine.
John C. Mather on the Infancy of the Universe at the National Academy of Sciences

John Mather Nobel Medal replica flown in Space Shuttle Atlantis

* * ttp://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2006/mather-speech_en.html/ John Mather Nobel banquet speech from 2006
John Mather commencement address at the University of Maryland from 2008

John Mather in White House

John Mather Nobel Scholarship has new host

* ttp://www.epsnews.eu/2011/09/2011-daniel-chalonge-medal/ Daniel Chalonge Medal 2011 awarded to John Mather
National Geographic showcases John Mather

John Mather elected Fellow of AAASJohn Mather's 2021 Talk in the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series on 'How the Smooth Early Universe Grew into Everyone You Know'

American Astronomical Society hosts John Mather inspiring students

John Mather on Cosmic Complexity

John Mather 2012 delegate at the Blouin Creative Leadership Summit

John Mather in dialogue at Lindau Nobel
*
Smithsonian presents John Mather

John Mather receives the Power of Excellence Award "for his excellence in his career and becoming a positive role model."

Southern Illinois University Shaw Lecture features John Mather

2013 Albert Einstein World Award of Science Nomination
*
John Mather Biography and Interview on American Academy of Achievement
* including the Nobel Lecture on 8 December 2006 ''From the Big Bang to the Nobel Prize and Beyond'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mather, John C. 1946 births Living people American astronomers American Nobel laureates 21st-century American physicists Fellows of the American Physical Society Goddard Space Flight Center NASA people NASA astrophysicists Nobel laureates in Physics People from Sussex County, New Jersey People from Roanoke, Virginia Swarthmore College alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Maryland, College Park faculty Columbia University faculty Fellows of the Optical Society Honorary members of the Optical Society Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Winners of the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics Scientists from Virginia Fellows of the American Astronomical Society