Lyman Page

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Lyman A. Page Jr.
LymanPage1.JPG
Lyman in 2005
Born
Lyman Alexander Page, Jr. [1]

(1957-09-24) September 24, 1957 (age 66) [2]
NationalityAmerican
Education Bowdoin College (BA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
Known forCo-leading the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe project
SpouseElizabeth Olson [3]
Children3
Awards Marc Aaronson Memorial Lectureship
Shaw Prize in Astronomy
Gruber Prize in Cosmology
Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics [4]
Scientific career
Fields Astrophysics
Institutions Princeton University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bartol Research Foundation
Thesis A measurement of the cosmic microwave background radiation anisotropy  (1989)
Doctoral advisor Stephan S. Meyer [5]

Lyman Alexander Page, Jr. (born September 24, 1957) is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics at Princeton University. He is an expert in observational cosmology and one of the original co-investigators for the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) project that made precise observations of the electromagnetic radiation from the Big Bang, known as cosmic background radiation. [6]

Contents

Early life and education

Page was born in San Francisco [3] in 1957, and moved through Virginia and New Hampshire with his parents, eventually settling in Maine. His father was a pediatrician and his mother an artist. [7] He has a younger brother and sister. He became interested in physics at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, where he did his undergraduate studies, after a course taught by Elroy O. LaCasce. He worked on the Mach’s principle for a course project and was drawn to cosmology. [3] Page graduated with a BA in Physics in 1978. [1]

Page then became a research technician for 15 months at the Bartol Research Foundation (now Bartol Research Institute), being stationed at the McMurdo Station in the Antarctica and operating a cosmic ray station. [3] [8] Returning to the United States, he bought and rebuilt a sailboat, and started sailing around the East Coast and the Caribbean for 2.5 years. [8] He intermittently worked onshore in carpentry, rigging and other kinds of boat service, until he survived a storm near Venezuela, after which he decided to pursue graduate studies. [3] Rainer Weiss from the Department of Physics of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) agreed to let Page work in his lab, albeit without pay, so Page worked as carpenter in the day and at Weiss's lab at night. [3] Eventually in 1983, Page began his PhD study at the MIT under the supervision of Stephan S. Meyer, completing 6 years later. [1]

Scientific career

After his PhD, Page stayed at MIT as a postdoctoral researcher, and joined the Department of Physics of Princeton University in 1990, first as an instructor, and then promoted to assistant professor 1 year later and associate professor in 1995. [1] He became a full professor in 1998. [1] Since 2005, he has been successively appointed to different endowed professorships, including the Henry DeWolf Smyth Professor of Physics (2005-2014), the Cyrus Fogg Brackett Chair of Physics (2014-2015) and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics (since 2015). [9]

Between 2011 and 2017, Page was the chair, or Head, of the Department of Physics of Princeton University. [1]

Page was the founding director of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope project from 2004 to 2014. [10] Currently, he is a member of the executive board of the Simons Observatory, [11] an Advisor for Gravity and the Extreme Universe at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, [12] and serves on the board of directors of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. [13]

Research

Page's research centers around Cosmic microwave background (CMB), which is the electromagnetic radiation from the Big Bang. In 1991, Page, together with David Todd Wilkinson, Norman Jarosik and Edward J. Wollack, conceived of a satellite designed to specifically detect CMB. [3] They eventually partnered with Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Los Angeles, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and other institutions, [14] and the effort became the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) project, which was named in honor of Wilkinson. [15] The satellite was launched in 2001. Since CMB comes from a time when the universe began, WMAP enables the study of the universe's early history, including its expansion, as well as its composition. [16]

Personal life

Page met his wife, Elizabeth Olson, during his PhD years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Olson is a biophysics professor at Columbia University. They have three boys. [3] [17]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmic microwave background</span> Trace radiation from the early universe

The cosmic microwave background is microwave radiation that fills all space in the observable universe. It is a remnant that provides an important source of data on the primordial universe. With a standard optical telescope, the background space between stars and galaxies is almost completely dark. However, a sufficiently sensitive radio telescope detects a faint background glow that is almost uniform and is not associated with any star, galaxy, or other object. This glow is strongest in the microwave region of the radio spectrum. The accidental discovery of the CMB in 1965 by American radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson was the culmination of work initiated in the 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe</span> NASA satellite of the Explorer program

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), originally known as the Microwave Anisotropy Probe, was a NASA spacecraft operating from 2001 to 2010 which measured temperature differences across the sky in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) – the radiant heat remaining from the Big Bang. Headed by Professor Charles L. Bennett of Johns Hopkins University, the mission was developed in a joint partnership between the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Princeton University. The WMAP spacecraft was launched on 30 June 2001 from Florida. The WMAP mission succeeded the COBE space mission and was the second medium-class (MIDEX) spacecraft in the NASA Explorer program. In 2003, MAP was renamed WMAP in honor of cosmologist David Todd Wilkinson (1935–2002), who had been a member of the mission's science team. After nine years of operations, WMAP was switched off in 2010, following the launch of the more advanced Planck spacecraft by European Space Agency (ESA) in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmic Background Explorer</span> NASA satellite of the Explorer program

The Cosmic Background Explorer, also referred to as Explorer 66, was a NASA satellite dedicated to cosmology, which operated from 1989 to 1993. Its goals were to investigate the cosmic microwave background radiation of the universe and provide measurements that would help shape our understanding of the cosmos.

Observational cosmology is the study of the structure, the evolution and the origin of the universe through observation, using instruments such as telescopes and cosmic ray detectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Todd Wilkinson</span> American cosmologist (1935–2002)

David Todd Wilkinson was an American cosmologist, specializing in the study of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB).

<i>Planck</i> (spacecraft) European cosmic microwave background observatory; medium-class mission in the ESA Science Programme

Planck was a space observatory operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) from 2009 to 2013. It was an ambitious project that aimed to map the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at microwave and infrared frequencies, with high sensitivity and small angular resolution. The mission was highly successful and substantially improved upon observations made by the NASA Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Spergel</span> American astrophysicist

David Nathaniel Spergel is an American theoretical astrophysicist and the Emeritus Charles A. Young Professor of Astronomy on the Class of 1897 Foundation at Princeton University. Since 2021, he has been the President of the Simons Foundation. He is known for his work on the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) project. In 2022, Spergel accepted the chair of NASA's UAP independent study team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Smoot</span> American astrophysicist and cosmologist

George Fitzgerald Smoot III is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, Nobel laureate, and the second contestant to win the $1 million prize on Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer with John C. Mather that led to the "discovery of the black body form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles L. Bennett</span> American astronomer

Charles L. Bennett is an American observational astrophysicist. He is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, the Alumni Centennial Professor of Physics and Astronomy and a Gilman Scholar at Johns Hopkins University. He is the Principal Investigator of NASA's highly successful Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP).

Edward L. (Ned) Wright is an American astrophysicist and cosmologist. He has worked on space missions including the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), and Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) projects.

The Gruber Prize in Cosmology, established in 2000, is one of three prestigious international awards worth US$500,000 awarded by the Gruber Foundation, a non-profit organization based at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CMB cold spot</span> Region in space

The CMB Cold Spot or WMAP Cold Spot is a region of the sky seen in microwaves that has been found to be unusually large and cold relative to the expected properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). The "Cold Spot" is approximately 70 µK (0.00007 K) colder than the average CMB temperature, whereas the root mean square of typical temperature variations is only 18 µK. At some points, the "cold spot" is 140 µK colder than the average CMB temperature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta 5000</span>

The Delta 5000 series was an American expendable launch system which was used to conduct an orbital launch in 1989. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets. Although several variants were put forward, only the Delta 5920 was launched. The designation used a four digit numerical code to store information on the configuration of the rocket. It was built from a combination of spare parts left over from earlier Delta rockets, which were being retired, and parts from the Delta II 6000-series, which was just entering service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Licia Verde</span> Italian cosmologist and theoretical physicist (born 1971)

Licia Verde is an Italian cosmologist and theoretical physicist and currently ICREA Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Barcelona. Her research interests include large-scale structure, dark matter, dark energy, inflation and the cosmic microwave background.

Michele Limon is an Italian research scientist at the University of Pennsylvania. Limon studied physics at the Università degli Studi di Milano in Milan, Italy and completed his post-doctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley. He has been conducting research for more than 30 years and has experience in the design of ground, balloon and space-based instrumentation. His academic specialties include Astrophysics, Cosmology, Instrumentation Development, and Cryogenics.

Rachel Bean is a cosmologist and theoretical astrophysicist. She is a professor of astronomy and the interim dean of the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiranya Peiris</span> British astrophysicist (born 1974)

Hiranya Vajramani Peiris is a British astrophysicist at the University of Cambridge, where she holds the Professorship of Astrophysics (1909). She is best known for her work on the cosmic microwave background radiation, and interdisciplinary links between cosmology and high-energy physics. She was one of 27 scientists who received the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2018 for their "detailed maps of the early universe."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Dunkley</span> British astrophysicist

Joanna Dunkley is a British astrophysicist and Professor of Physics at Princeton University. She works on the origin of the Universe and the Cosmic microwave background (CMB) using the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, the Simons Observatory and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST).

Gary F. Hinshaw is a cosmologist and physics professor at the University of British Columbia. Hinshaw worked on the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) whose observations of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) have provided significant insights into cosmology. He holds both US and Canadian citizenship.

Norman C. Jarosik is a US astrophysicist. He has worked on the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) whose observations of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) have provided significant insights into cosmology.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lyman Alexander Page Jr" (PDF). Princeton University. May 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Lyman A. Page". American Institute of Physics. Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Autobiography of Lyman A Page Jr". Shaw Prize Foundation. Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Lyman Page, Jr. and the WMAP Science Team". Breakthrough Prize . Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Lyman Alexander Page". INSPIRE-HEP . Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Lyman Page". American Physical Society. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  7. ↑ "InterViews: Lyman Page". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  8. 1 2 Даулетбек, Кайсар (October 12, 2020). "From a sailor to the Breakthrough Prize winner: Interview with Doctor Lyman Page". the-steppe.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  9. ↑ "CURRICULUM VITAE LYMAN ALEXANDER PAGE JR" (PDF). Princeton University. September 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  10. ↑ "New view of nature's oldest light adds fresh twist to debate over universe's age". Princeton University. July 15, 2020. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Executive Board". Simons Observatory. February 28, 2020. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Lyman Page". Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Lyman A. Page Jr., Ph.D." Research Corporation. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  14. ↑ "WMAP Institutions". Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Lyman A. Page Jr". Department of Physics, Princeton University. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  16. ↑ Pearson, Ezzy (June 15, 2021). "WMAP: the NASA mission that mapped the cosmic microwave background". BBC Sky at Night . London. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Elizabeth S. Olson, PhD". Columbia University. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Aaronson Lectureship". University of Arizona. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Lyman Alexander Page". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Lyman A. Page, Jr". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Press Release" (Press release). Hong Kong: Shaw Prize Foundation. May 27, 2010. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  22. ↑ "APS Fellow Archive". American Physical Society. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Lyman A. Page, Jr". Gruber Foundation. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Laureates 2018". Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Professor LYMAN PAGE" (PDF). International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
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