David Spergel Explained

David Spergel
Birth Name:David Nathaniel Spergel[1]
Birth Date:March 25, 1961
Nationality:American
Field:Astrophysics
Known For:Co-leading the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe project
Alma Mater:Princeton University
Harvard University
Workplaces:Princeton University
Flatiron Institute
Simons Foundation
Thesis Title:The astrophysical implications of weakly interacting, massive particles
Thesis Url:http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990012341890203941/catalog
Thesis Year:1985
Doctoral Advisor:William H. Press
Awards:Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy
Shaw Prize in Astronomy
Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics
Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
Doctoral Students:Arlie Petters
Julianne Dalcanton
Hiranya Peiris
Shirley Ho[2]
Blake Daniel Sherwin
William Coulton[3] Katharine R. Long[4]

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.[5] 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.

Early life and education

Spergel was born to a Jewish family[6] in Rochester, New York. His father, Martin Spergel, was also a physicist and a professor at York College, City University of New York; he died in 2021.[7] The junior Spergel attended John Glenn High School in Huntington, New York.[8] He has a brother and a sister.[9]

Spergel graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts (AB) from Princeton University in 1982,[10] after completing a senior thesis on red giants under the supervision of Gillian R. Knapp.[10] [11] He then went to the University of Oxford as a visiting scholar in 1983, where he studied with James Binney.[10] He obtained his Master of Arts (AM) in 1984 and his PhD in 1985, both from Harvard University.[12]

Career

At the invitation of John N. Bahcall, Spergel joined the Institute for Advanced Studies after his PhD. He left and moved to Princeton University in 1987 as an assistant professor.[6] [9] [13] He was promoted to associate professor in 1992 and full professor in 1997. In 2007, he was appointed the Charles A. Young Professor of Astronomy on the Class of 1897 Foundation.[10]

Spergel joined the Flatiron Institute in 2016 as the founding director of the Center for Computational Astrophysics.[14] Citing the hesitance to hold onto 2 positions,[6] he retired from Princeton University in 2019 at the age of 59, and has remained as emeritus professor since.[15]

Spergel is a 2001 MacArthur Fellow,[12] and was a member of the NASA Advisory Council and chair of the Space Studies Board.[16] He was the Keck Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study from 2000 to 2001.[10]

Since 1994, Spergel is part of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) project consortium.[9] [17] Currently, he is a member of the Simons Observatory,[18] chairs the Science Definition Team of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (formerly known as the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope),[19] and sits on the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Institution for Science (since 2022).[20]

In 2022, Spergel was invited to lead NASA's UAP independent study team of sixteen members to provide guidance in better understanding "unidentified anomalous phenomena".[21] [22]

Honors and awards

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: David Nathaniel Spergel . . July 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706040503/https://www.amacad.org/person/david-nathaniel-spergel . July 6, 2022.
  2. Web site: David Nathaniel Spergel . . July 6, 2022 .
  3. Web site: Princeton University Doctoral Dissertations, 2011-2023 . . September 15, 2023 .
  4. Web site: David Nathaniel Spergel . . October 12, 2023 .
  5. News: David Spergel Takes the Helm as President of the Simons Foundation . July 1, 2021 . . July 7, 2022 . July 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707024637/https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2021/07/01/david-spergel-takes-the-helm-as-president-of-the-simons-foundation/.
  6. Web site: David Spergel . November 2020 . . July 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706033958/https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/45288 . July 6, 2022.
  7. News: Tim . Paglione . A Founding Prof. Dies: Tribute by a Faculty Mentee . July 7, 2022 . . 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707033625/https://www.york.cuny.edu/news/legendary-york-college-physics-professor-dies . July 7, 2022.
  8. News: National Merit Scholars Listed In New York, Jersey, Connecticut . July 7, 2022 . . April 30, 1978 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707030412/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/30/archives/national-merit-scholars-listed-in-new-york-jersey-connecticut.html . July 7, 2022.
  9. Web site: Autobiography of David N Spergel . . July 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706033703/https://www.shawprize.org/prizes-and-laureates/astronomy/2010/autobiography-of-david-n-spergel . July 6, 2022.
  10. Web site: David N. Spergel . Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University . July 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707031053/https://www.astro.princeton.edu/~dns/Spergel_CV.htm . July 7, 2022.
  11. Book: Spergel, David . The jolly red giant: late-type evolved stars and their evolution to planetary nebulae . 1982 . Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University . Princeton, New Jersey.
  12. Web site: David N. Spergel . . July 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707024244/https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2001/david-n-spergel . July 7, 2022 . October 1, 2001.
  13. Web site: David Spergel . December 9, 2019 . . July 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707034735/https://www.ias.edu/scholars/david-spergel . July 7, 2022.
  14. Web site: David Spergel, Ph.D. . . July 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706033627/https://www.simonsfoundation.org/people/david-spergel/ . July 6, 2022.
  15. News: Eighteen faculty members transfer to emeritus status . July 7, 2022 . Princeton University . June 24, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707041259/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/06/24/eighteen-faculty-members-transfer-emeritus-status . July 7, 2022.
  16. News: David Spergel Receives NASA's Exceptional Public Service Medal . July 7, 2022 . . April 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707013630/https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2022/04/13/david-spergel-receives-nasas-exceptional-public-service-medal/ . July 7, 2022.
  17. Web site: WMAP Institutions . . July 5, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220705084812/https://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission/team.html . July 5, 2022.
  18. Web site: Simons Observatory Collaborators . May 16, 2020 . . July 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220708022601/https://simonsobservatory.org/collaborators-for-website-draft-from-google-sheet/ . July 8, 2022.
  19. Web site: WFIRST at the 221st AAS Meeting . . July 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220708022956/https://roman.ipac.caltech.edu/mtgs/WFIRST_AAS_221.html . July 8, 2022.
  20. News: David Spergel joins Carnegie Science Board of Trustees . July 6, 2022 . . January 28, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706034003/https://carnegiescience.edu/news/david-spergel-joins-carnegie-science-board-trustees . July 6, 2022.
  21. News: Roulette . Joey . NASA to form scientific team to study UFOs . July 8, 2022 . . June 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220708024305/https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/nasa-form-scientific-team-study-ufos-2022-06-09/ . July 8, 2022.
  22. News: NASA to Set Up Independent Study on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena . July 8, 2022 . . June 9, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220708023832/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-to-set-up-independent-study-on-unidentified-aerial-phenomena/ . July 8, 2022.
  23. Astronomical Society Announces Prize Recipients for 1994 . 1994 . . 47 . 12 . 75 . 1994PhT....47X..75. . 10.1063/1.2808582.
  24. Web site: David Spergel . . July 7, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707014502/http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/5229.html . July 7, 2022.
  25. May 27, 2010 . Press Release . . . July 5, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220705082449/https://www.shawprize.org/prizes-and-laureates/astronomy/2010/press-release . July 5, 2022.
  26. Bjerklie . David . 2012 . The 25 Most Influential Space Scientists . . July 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707014043/https://www.cosmotography.com/images/TIME_New_Space_Discoveries.html . July 7, 2022.
  27. 2014 . 365 days: Nature's 10 . . 516 . 7531 . 311–319 . 10.1038/516311a . 2014Natur.516..311. . 25519114. 4403548 . free .
  28. New Jersey Astrophysicist David Spergel Wins 2015 Dannie Heineman Prize . . July 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707013801/https://www.aip.org/news/new-jersey-astrophysicist-david-spergel-wins-2015-dannie-heineman-prize . July 7, 2022 . . January 16, 2015.
  29. News: FACULTY AWARD: Spergel receives NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal . July 8, 2022 . Princeton University . January 31, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220708020641/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2017/01/31/faculty-award-spergel-receives-nasa-exceptional-public-service-medal . July 8, 2022.
  30. Web site: Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Laureats: 2018 . . July 5, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220705081316/https://breakthroughprize.org/Laureates/1/P1/Y2018 . July 5, 2022.
  31. Web site: AAS Fellows Class of 2020 (Legacy Fellows) . . July 7, 2022 . July 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220707015613/https://aas.org/grants-and-prizes/aas-fellows.
  32. Web site: Elected Members .

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