George Smoot

University of California, Berkeley

George Smoot is a Nobel Prize-winning cosmologist, astrophysicist, and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Paris Institute of Astrophysics. He received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with John Mather, for his discovery of anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background radiation using the COBE satellite—tiny temperature fluctuations that represent the seeds from which all large-scale structures in the universe grew. These fluctuations, at the level of one part in 100,000, provided the first direct observational evidence that the universe's matter distribution was not perfectly uniform in its early moments, confirming a critical prediction of inflationary cosmology. Smoot's work on COBE involved developing and deploying the Differential Microwave Radiometers (DMR) instrument, which mapped the CMB anisotropy across the full sky. He has also contributed to balloon-borne and ground-based CMB experiments including MAXIMA and worked on large-scale structure surveys. Beyond cosmology, Smoot has become a prominent public communicator of science and has participated in documentary films and television programs. He currently collaborates with institutions in Europe and Asia on next-generation cosmological surveys. His recognition extends to election to the National Academy of Sciences and receipt of numerous honorary degrees and awards including the Oersted Medal for physics education.