Irwin I. Shapiro

Last updated
Irwin I. Shapiro
Born
Irwin Ira Shapiro [1]

Nationality American
Alma mater Cornell University
Harvard University
Known for Shapiro time delay
Awards Albert A. Michelson Medal (1975)
Dannie Heineman Prize (1983)
Brouwer Award (1987)
Charles A. Whitten Medal (1991)
William Bowie Medal (1993)
Albert Einstein Medal (1994)
Gerard P. Kuiper Prize (1997)
Einstein Prize (2013)
Scientific career
Fields Astrophysics
Thesis Methods of Approximation for High Energy Nuclear Scattering  (1955)
Notable students Thomas A. Herring
Steven J. Ostro
Alyssa A. Goodman

Irwin Ira Shapiro is an American astrophysicist and Timken University Professor at Harvard University. He has been a professor at Harvard since 1982. [2] He was the director of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian from 1982 to 2004. [3] [4]

Contents

Career

A native of New York, Shapiro graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in New York City. He later received his B.A. in Mathematics from Cornell University, and later a M.A. and Ph.D in Physics from Harvard University. He joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory in 1954 and became a professor of physics there in 1967. In 1982, he took a position as professor and Guggenheim Fellow [5] at his alma mater, Harvard, and also became director of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. In 1997, he became the first Timken University Professor at the university. [2]

Shapiro's research interests include astrophysics, astrometry, geophysics, gravitation, including the use of gravitational lenses to assess the age of the universe. [6] In 1981, Edward Bowell discovered the 3832 main belt asteroid and it was later named after Shapiro by his former student Steven J. Ostro. [7]

Recognition

Honors and awards

Eponyms

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theory of relativity</span> Two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein

The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in the absence of gravity. General relativity explains the law of gravitation and its relation to the forces of nature. It applies to the cosmological and astrophysical realm, including astronomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert A. Michelson</span> American physicist (1852–1931)

Albert Abraham Michelson FFRS FRSE was a Prussian-born American physicist of Jewish descent, known for his work on measuring the speed of light and especially for the Michelson–Morley experiment. In 1907 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics, becoming the first American to win the Nobel Prize in a science. He was the founder and the first head of the physics departments of Case School of Applied Science and the University of Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Faber</span> American astrophysicist

Sandra Moore Faber is an American astrophysicist known for her research on the evolution of galaxies. She is the University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and works at the Lick Observatory. She has made discoveries linking the brightness of galaxies to the speed of stars within them and was the co-discoverer of the Faber–Jackson relation. Faber was also instrumental in designing the Keck telescopes in Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kip Thorne</span> American physicist (born 1940)

Kip Stephen Thorne is an American theoretical physicist known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Astronomical Society</span> Society of professional astronomers based in Washington, DC

The American Astronomical Society 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 advancement of astronomy and closely related branches of science, while the secondary purpose includes enhancing astronomy education and providing a political voice for its members through lobbying and grassroots activities. Its current mission is to enhance and share humanity's scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainer Weiss</span> American physicist

Rainer "Rai" Weiss is a German-born American physicist, known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. He is a professor of physics emeritus at MIT and an adjunct professor at LSU. He is best known for inventing the laser interferometric technique which is the basic operation of LIGO. He was Chair of the COBE Science Working Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr.</span> American astrophysicist

Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr. is an American astrophysicist and Nobel Prize laureate in Physics for his discovery with Russell Alan Hulse of a "new type of pulsar, a discovery that has opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitation."

John Peter Huchra was an American astronomer and professor. He was the Vice Provost for Research Policy at Harvard University and a Professor of Astronomy at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. He was also a former chair of the United States National Committee for the International Astronomical Union. and past president of the American Astronomical Society.

Michael John Seaton was an influential British mathematician, atomic physicist, and astronomer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Kirshner</span> American astronomer

Robert P. Kirshner is an American astronomer, Chief Program Officer for Science for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Clownes Research Professor of Science at Harvard University. Kirshner has worked in several areas of astronomy including the physics of supernovae, supernova remnants, the large-scale structure of the cosmos, and the use of supernovae to measure the expansion of the universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John C. Mather</span> American astrophysicist and cosmologist (born 1946)

John Cromwell Mather is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) with George Smoot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Dalgarno</span> British physicist and father of molecular astrophysics

Alexander Dalgarno FRS was a British physicist who was a Phillips Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reinhard Genzel</span> German astrophysicist

Reinhard Genzel is a German astrophysicist, co-director of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, a professor at LMU and an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy", which he shared with Andrea Ghez and Roger Penrose. In a 2021 interview given to Federal University of Pará in Brazil, Genzel recalls his journey as a physicist; the influence of his father, Ludwig Genzel; his experiences working with Charles H. Townes; and more.

Bernard F. Schutz FInstP FLSW is an American and naturalised British physicist. He is well known for his research in Einstein's theory of general relativity, especially for his contributions to the detection of gravitational waves, and for his textbooks. Schutz is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences. He is a professor of physics and astronomy at Cardiff University, and was a founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam, Germany, where he led the Astrophysical Relativity division from 1995 to 2014. Schutz was a founder and principal investigator of the GEO gravitational wave collaboration, which became part of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC). Schutz was also one of the initiators of the proposal for the space-borne gravitational wave detector LISA, and he coordinated the European planning for its data analysis until the mission was adopted by ESA in 2016. Schutz conceived and in 1998 began publishing from the AEI the online open access (OA) review journal Living Reviews in Relativity, which for many years has been the highest-impact OA journal in the world, as measured by Clarivate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alessandra Buonanno</span> Italian / American physicist

Alessandra Buonanno is an Italian naturalized-American theoretical physicist and director at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam. She is the head of the "Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity" department. She holds a research professorship at the University of Maryland, College Park, and honorary professorships at the Humboldt University in Berlin, and the University of Potsdam. She is a leading member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, which observed gravitational waves from a binary black-hole merger in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret G. Kivelson</span> American geophysicist, planetary scientist (born 1928)

Margaret Galland Kivelson is an American space physicist, planetary scientist, and distinguished professor emerita of space physics at the University of California, Los Angeles. From 2010 to the present, concurrent with her appointment at UCLA, Kivelson has been a research scientist and scholar at the University of Michigan. Her primary research interests include the magnetospheres of Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vicky Kalogera</span> Greek astrophysicist

Vassiliki Kalogera is a Greek astrophysicist. She is a professor at Northwestern University and the Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA). She is a leading member of the LIGO Collaboration that observed gravitational waves in 2015.

Stuart Louis Shapiro is an American theoretical astrophysicist, who works on numerical relativity with applications in astrophysics, specialising in compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rita M. Sambruna</span> Italian astrophysicist

Rita M. Sambruna Commander OMRI (Hon) is an Italian-American astrophysicist and is the Deputy Director of the Astrophysics Science Division at National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center. From September 2022 to May 2023, she was the Acting Deputy Director of the Science Exploration Directorate at Goddard. Rita held the Clare Boothe Luce Professorship in Physics and Astronomy at George Mason University in 2000-2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Eisenhauer</span> German astronomer

Frank Eisenhauer is a German astronomer and astrophysicist, a director of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), and a professor at Technical University of Munich. He is best known for his contributions to interferometry and spectroscopy and the study of the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.

References

  1. "Irwin Shapiro - the Mathematics Genealogy Project".
  2. 1 2 "Shapiro Named First Timken University Professor". Harvard University Gazette. 1997-10-16. Archived from the original on 2006-09-02. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
  3. "Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Celebrates 25 Years". Harvard University Gazette. 1998-10-15. Archived from the original on 2016-04-18. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
  4. "Alcock to lead the CfA". Harvard University Gazette. 2004-05-20. Archived from the original on 2006-09-03. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
  5. "Irwin Ira Shapiro - John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation". Archived from the original on 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  6. "Irwin Shapiro".
  7. "(3832) Shapiro". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. 2007. pp. 324–325. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3824. ISBN   978-3-540-00238-3.
  8. "Franklin Laureate Database - Albert A. Michelson Medal Laureates". Franklin Institute. Archived from the original on 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
  9. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  10. "2018 Stanley Corrsin Award Recipient".
  11. "American Philosophical Society Members". APS. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  12. "AAS Fellows". AAS. Retrieved 3 September 2020.