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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as SubjectPublished as AuthorJohn C. Mather
Dates
August 7, 1946 – present
Authorized Form of Name
Mather, John C.
Additional Forms of Names
Mather, John (John C.)
Mather, John Cromwell
Biography
Abstract
John C. Mather is Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1995-present). His research interests include cosmic background radiation and infrared spectroscopy.
Important Dates
August 7, 1946Birth, Roanoke (Va.).
1968Obtained BA, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore (Pa.).
1974Obtained PhD in Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley (Calif.).
1974 – presentNational Research Council (NRC) Fellow in Astrophysics (1974-1976); Study Scientist, Far IR Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS), Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) (1976-1988); Project Scientist, Far IR Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS), Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) (1988-1998); Senior Astrophysicist (1993-present); and Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope (1995-present), Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Greenbelt (Md.).
1992 – presentAdjunct Professor of Physics, University of Maryland.
1997Member, National Academy of Sciences.
2006Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics with George Smoot "for their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation".
2007 – 2008Chief Scientist, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Occupation
Astrophysicist.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Subjects
Relationships
People
Family
Mather, Martha Cromwell
Mother.
Mather, Robert E.
Father.
Advisors & Collaborators
Advised by Mather at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Richards, Paul L. (Paul Linford)
PhD advisor at University of California, Berkeley, "Far infrared spectrometry of the cosmic background radiation."
Co-won 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics "for their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation."
Colleagues
Bennett, Charles L. (Charles Leonard), 1956-
Both employed at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Fletcher, James Chipman, 1919-1991
Both employed at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Frosch, Robert A. (Robert Alan), 1928-
Both employed at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Both employed at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Both employed at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Additional
Werner, Michael W.
Institutions
Major Positions
Goddard Space Flight Center
National Research Council (NRC) Fellow in Astrophysics; Study Scientist, Far IR Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS), Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE); Project Scientist, Far IR Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS), Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE); Senior Astrophysicist; and Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope.
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Research Council (NRC) Fellow in Astrophysics, Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Study Scientist, Far IR Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS), Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), Goddard Space Flight Center; Project Scientist, Far IR Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS), Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), Goddard Space Flight Center; Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope, Goddard Space Flight Center; and Chief Scientist, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters.
University of Maryland at College Park. Department of Physics and Astronomy
Adjunct Professor of Physics.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Member.
Swarthmore College. Department of Physics and Astronomy
Obtained BA (1968).
University of California, Berkeley. Department of Physics
Obtained PhD in Physics (1974).
Resources
Archival Resources
Subject
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Michael Werner, 2008 July 25.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA