Robert Woodrow Wilson

Biography

Abstract

Robert Woodrow Wilson is a senior scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (1994-present). He co-discovered cosmic microwave background radiation with Arno Penzias. His other institutional affiliations include Bell Laboratories and California Institute of Technology.

Important Dates

January 10, 1936Birth, Houston (Tex.).

1957Obtained BA, Rice University, Houston (Tex.).

1962Obtained PhD in Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Calif.).

1962 – 1963Research Associate, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Calif.).

1963 – 1984Member, Technical Staff (1963-1977) and Head, Radio Physics Research Department (1976-1984), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1977Awarded Henry Draper Medal, National Academy of Sciences.

1978Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics with Arno Penzias "for their discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation".

1979Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1980 – 2004Consultant, Northwest Marine Technologies.

1984 – 1994Head, Radio Physics Research Department, AT & T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1994 – presentSenior Scientist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

2009Member, American Philosophical Society.

Occupation

Astrophysicist.

Places

Birth

Houston (Tex.)

Undergraduate Education

Houston (Tex.)

Graduate Education

Pasadena (Calif.)

Employment

Murray Hill (N.J.)

Cambridge (Mass.)

Subjects

Astrophysics.

Cosmic background radiation.

Radio astronomy.

Relationships

People

Family

Wilson, Elizabeth Rhoads

Wife.

Wilson, Philip

Son.

Wilson, Suzanne

Daughter.

Advisors & Collaborators

Penzias, Arno A.

Shared the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics "for their discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation" and both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Schmidt, Maarten, 1929-

Ph.D. advisor at California Institute of Technology.

Colleagues

Aeppli, Gabriel

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Ahlers, G. (Günter)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Alivisatos, P.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Anderson, Carl D. (Carl David), 1905-1991

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Anderson, P. W. (Philip W.), 1923-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Appelbaum, J. A. (Joel A.)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Ashkin, Arthur, 1922-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Aspnes, D. E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bacher, Robert F. (Robert Fox), 1905-2004

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bahcall, John N.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Barish, B. C. (Barry Clark), 1936-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Birgeneau, Robert J. (Robert Joseph), 1942-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bishop, David John, 1951-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bode, Hendrik W. (Hendrik Wade), 1905-1982

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Boehm, Felix

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Boyle, Willard S., 1924-2011

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Brattain, Walter H. (Walter Houser), 1902-1987

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Brinkman, William F. (William Frank), 1938-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Buchsbaum, Solomon J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bucksbaum, Philip H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cava, Robert J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chabal, Yves Jean, 1952-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chemla, D. S.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Christy, Robert F.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Chu, Ching-wu, 1941-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chynoweth, A. G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Clogston, Albert McCavour

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cohen, Marvin L.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cole, Julian D.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Coppersmith, Susan Nan

Both employed at AT & T Bell Laboratories.

Cutler, Cassius Chapin

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Darlington, Sidney, 1906-1997

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

David, Edward E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

DiSalvo, Francis

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Dolan, Gerald

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

DuMond, Jesse W. M. (Jesse William Monroe), 1892-1976

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Dynes, Robert C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Eigler, Donald

Both employed at AT & T Bell Laboratories.

Eisenstein, James P. (James Philip)

Both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Epstein, Paul S. (Paul Sophus), 1883-1966

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Feynman, Richard P. (Richard Phillips), 1918-1988

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Fisk, James B. (James Brown), 1910-1981

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fleury, Paul A.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fowler, William A.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Fulton, Theodore Alan

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Galt, John Kirtland, 1920-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Geballe, Theodore H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Gossard, A. C.

Both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Gould, Roy W. (Roy Walter), 1927-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Greene, Laura H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hagstrum, Homer D.

Both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Haldane, F. Duncan M.

Both employed at AT & T Bell Laboratories.

Halperin, Bertrand I.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hamann, Donald, 1939-

Both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Hellman, Frances

Both employed at AT & T Bell Laboratories.

Hellwarth, Robert Willis, 1930-2021

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Herring, William Conyers, 1914-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hohenberg, Pierre C.

Both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Hopfield, John J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Isaacs, Eric D.

Both employed at AT & T Bell Laboratories.

Jackson, Shirley Ann, 1946-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Johnson, Peter D., 1952-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kompfner, Rudolf, 1909-1977

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lander, James J., 1914-1996

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Laughlin, Robert B.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lauritsen, Charles Christian, 1892-1968

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Lax, Melvin J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lee, P. A. (Patrick A.), 1946-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Leighton, Robert B.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Libchaber, Albert J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Matthias, Bernd T., 1918-1980

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

McMillan, William L.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Millis, Andrew J.

Both employed at AT & T Bell Laboratories.

Murray, Cherry Ann

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Narath, Albert, 1933-

Both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Osheroff, Douglas D.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Patel, C. Kumar N.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pfann, William G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Phillips, J. C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Phillips, Julia M.

Both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Pinczuk, Aron

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Raghavachari, Krishnan

Both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Rice, Thomas Maurice, 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Rowell, John Martin, 1935-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Shank, C. V. (Charles V.)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smith, George E., 1930-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smith, Neville, 1942-2006

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Stillinger, F. H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Störmer, Horst

Both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Tank, David William, 1953-

Both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Tauc, J. (Jan)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Tersoff, J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Thomas, D. G. (David Gilbert), 1928-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Tollestrup, Alvin

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Tsui, D. C. (Daniel Chee), 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Weeks, John David

Both employed at Bell Laboratories.

Willett, Robert L.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Additional

Alpher, Ralph, 1921-2007

Ferris, Timothy

Kapitsa, P. L. (Petr Leonidovich), 1894-1984

Awarded 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for separate project.

Sullivan, Woodruff Turner

Wilkinson, David T.

Institutions

Major Positions

AT & T Bell Laboratories

Head, Radio Physics Research Department.

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Member, Technical Staff and Head, Radio Physics Research Department.

California Institute of Technology. Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy

Obtained PhD (Physics) in 1962 and Research Associate.

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Senior Scientist.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

American Astronomical Society

American Philosophical Society

Member.

American Physical Society

International Astronomical Union

International Union of Radio Science

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member and received 1977 Henry Draper Medal.

Northwest Marine Technologies

Consultant.

Phi Beta Kappa

Rice University. Space Physics and Astronomy Department

Obtained BA in 1957.

Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society of North America

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Joint symposium of the Division of Astrophysics and the Forum for History of Physics [sound recording] / 1987 April 21 & 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

The George Gamow Symposium [videorecording] / Produced by George Washington University Physics Dept. ; 1996 April 12.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Arno A. Penzias papers, 1931-2006 (bulk 1963-1998).

Manuscript Division

Library of Congress

James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA

Oral history interview with Arno A. Penzias, 2006 January 19, March 21 and 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with David Todd Wilkinson, 1984 September 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Ralph Alpher and second session is joint interview with Robert Herman, 1983 August 11 and 12.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Timothy Ferris interviews conducted for book, THE RED LIMIT, 1974-1976.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Woodruff T. Sullivan papers, 1946-2009.

Archives

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA

Published Resources

Author

Nobel Prize Autobiography.