Brian P. Schmidt

Brian P. Schmidt is an astronomer and astrophysicist renowned for his leadership in the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe. He is a Distinguished Professor at the Australian National University's Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and served as the Vice-Chancellor of the university from 2016 to 2023. For his groundbreaking work, he was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011, shared with Adam Riess and Saul Perlmutter.

Early life and education

Born in Missoula, Montana, he spent his early years in Alaska and Montana before his family settled in Anchorage, Alaska. His interest in science was sparked by his father, a fisheries biologist. Schmidt completed his undergraduate studies in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Arizona in 1989. He then pursued graduate studies at Harvard University, earning a Master's degree in 1992 and a PhD in Astronomy in 1993 under the supervision of renowned astrophysicist Robert Kirshner. His doctoral thesis focused on using Type Ia supernovae as tools for measuring cosmic distances.

Career and research

Following his PhD, Schmidt conducted postdoctoral research at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics before moving to Australia in 1994 to take up a position at the Mount Stromlo Observatory, part of the Australian National University. In 1994, he formed the High-z Supernova Search Team, an international collaboration, to measure the expansion history of the universe. By 1998, the team's observations of distant Type Ia supernovae provided startling evidence that the expansion of the universe was not slowing down, as previously thought, but accelerating—a finding published simultaneously with the rival Supernova Cosmology Project led by Saul Perlmutter. This discovery implied the existence of a mysterious repulsive force, later termed dark energy, and revolutionized modern cosmology. Schmidt has continued his research in observational cosmology, contributing to projects like the SkyMapper telescope and serving as a chief investigator for the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics.

Awards and honors

Schmidt's contributions have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards. In 2006, he shared the Shaw Prize in Astronomy with Adam Riess and Saul Perlmutter. The pinnacle of recognition came in 2011 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Riess and Perlmutter, for the discovery of the accelerating universe. Other significant honors include the Pawsey Medal from the Australian Academy of Science (2001), the Australian Government's Prime Minister's Prize for Science (2006), election as a Fellow of the Royal Society (2012), and appointment as a Companion of the Order of Australia (2013). He is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the United States National Academy of Sciences.

Personal life

Schmidt is a dual citizen of the United States and Australia. He is married to the Australian economist Jenny Gordon, and they have two children. An avid believer in science communication, he is a frequent public speaker and has appeared on programs like the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Catalyst. Outside of academia, he manages a family-owned vineyard and winery in the Canberra District wine region, producing Shiraz and Riesling.

Selected publications

* Schmidt, B.P., et al. (1998). "The High-Z Supernova Search: Measuring Cosmic Deceleration and Global Curvature of the Universe Using Type Ia Supernovae". The Astrophysical Journal. * Riess, A.G., et al. (1998). "Observational Evidence from Supernovae for an Accelerating Universe and a Cosmological Constant". The Astronomical Journal. (Key paper co-authored by Schmidt). * Schmidt, B.P. (2012). "Nobel Lecture: Accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae". Reviews of Modern Physics.

Category:Australian astronomers Category:Nobel laureates in Physics Category:Australian National University faculty