Chercheurs

Astronomie / MATHER, JOHN C.

john.c.mather

Position

Senior Astrophysicist and Goddard Fellow

Senior Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope

Astrophysics Science Division
NASA/GSFC,Code 665, Observational Cosmology, Greenbelt, MD, USA.

Thèmes de recherche

Cosmology, Far IR astronomy and instrumentation, Fourier transform spectroscopy, large space telescopes, interplanetary dust, diffuse background radiation

Current Projects :
- JWST, James Webb Space Telescope
- COBE, Cosmic Background Explorer
- WISE, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
- MPF, Microlensing Planet Finder
- SAFIR, Single Aperture Far InfraRed telescope
- SPECS, Submillimeter Probe of the Evolution of Cosmic Structure

Dr. John C. Mather, Senior Astrophysicist, Goddard Fellow, and Senior Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is responsible for ensuring the scientific success of the JWST. He has been Goddard\'s lead scientist for JWST since studies were initiated Oct. 30, 1995. He is a member of the Infrared Astrophysics Branch. Previously, he served as Project Scientist for the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE), and as Principal Investigator for the Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS) on the COBE. He organized the first proposal for the COBE in 1974 and led the scientific effort through the completion of the mission. As FIRAS PI he measured the cosmic microwave background radiation spectrum to the unprecedented precision of a part in 100,000, showing that it matches the spectrum of a perfect blackbody and must originate in the primordial Big Bang of the universe. He served as Head of the Infrared Astrophysics Branch from 1988-1989 and from 1990-1993. Dr. Mather has served on many committees for NASA, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Science Foundation.

Prix et récompenses

Open Scholarship (honorary), Swarthmore, 1964-68
Putnam national math contest, 1967, 30th place nationwide
Highest possible score (990), physics Grad Records, 1968
Highest Honors and Phi Beta Kappa, Swarthmore 1968
NSF Fellowship and honorary Woodrow Wilson Fellowship 1968-70
Hertz Foundation Fellowship, 1970-74
Group Achievement Award, GSFC, 1978
Exceptional Achievement Award, GSFC, 1986
Certificate of Recognition, Inventions and Contributions, GSFC, 1986
John C. Lindsay Memorial Award (NASA-GSFC), 1990
Group Achievement Award (NASA-GSFC), 1990
NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award, 1991
NASA Group Achievement Award, 1991
Rotary National Space Achievement Award, 1991
National Air and Space Museum Trophy, 1991
Aviation Week and Space Technology Laurels, 1992, for Space/Missiles
Discover Magazine Technology Award finalist, 1993
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space Science Award, 1993
Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics, American Astronomical Society and American
Institute of Physics, 1993 (presented Jan. 1994)
Senior Astrophysicist (3104 position), 1993, GSFC
Goddard Fellow, 1994, GSFC
Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, Swarthmore College, 1994
John Scott Award, City of Philadelphia, 1995
Rumford Prize, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1996
Fellow, American Physical Society, 1996
Hall of Fame, Aviation Week and Space Technology, 1997
Member, National Academy of Sciences, 1997
GSFC Group Achievement Award, Next Generation Space Telescope, 1997
Marc Aaronson Memorial Prize, 1998
Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1998
Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics, Franklin Institute, 1999
NASA/GSFC Outstanding Teamwork award for NGST SEB, 1999
Newton (NJ) High School Hall of Fame, 2003
Presidential Rank Distinguished Performance award, NASA, 2003
George W. Goddard Award, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, 2005
Cosmology Prize, with COBE Team, Peter Gruber Foundation, 2006
Nobel Prize in Physics, with George Smoot, 2006

Publications

J.C. Mather and J. Boslough, \"The Very First Light,\" Basic Books, New York, 1996.

D.J. Fixsen, E.S. Cheng, J.M. Gales, J.C. Mather, R.A. Shafer, and E.L. Wright, \"The Cosmic Microwave Background Spectrum from the Full COBE FIRAS Data Set,\" Astrophysical Journal, 473, 576, 1996.

R.A. Shafer, J.C. Mather, D.J. Fixen, K.A. Jensen, W.T. Reach, E. Dwek, and E.S. Cheng, \"The Far Infrared Background as Measured by COBE FIRAS I: Limits from Dark Sky Measurements,\" Astrophysical Journal, 470, 681, 1996.

N.N. Gor\'kavyi, L.M. Ozernoy, and J.C. Mather, \"A New approach to Dynamical Evolution of Interplanetary Dust,\" Astrophysical Journal, 474, 496, 1996.

D.J. Fixsen, G. Hinshaw, C.L. Bennett, J.C. Mather, \"The Spectrum of the CMB Anisotropy from the Combined COBE FIRAS and DMR Observations,\" Astrophysical Journal, 486, 1997.

Fixsen, D.J., Weiland, J.L., Brodd, S., Hauser, M.G., Kelsall, T., Leisawitz, D.T., Mather, J.C., Jensen, K.A., Shafer, R.A., and Silverberg, R.F., “The Comparison of the FIRAS and DIRBE Calibrations,” ApJ, 490, 482, 1997

Fixsen, D. J., Mather, J. C., “The Spectral Results of the Far-Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer Instrument on COBE,” ApJ, 581, Issue 2, pp. 817-822, 2002

Ipatov, Sergei I., Mather, John C., “Migration of Trans-Neptunian Objects to the Terrestrial Planets,” Earth, Moon, and Planets, v. 92, Issue 1, p. 89-98 (2003).

Daniel F. Lester, Harold W. Yorke, John C. Mather, “Does the Lunar Surface Still Offer Value As a Site for Astronomical Observatories?” Space Policy, May 2004

Benford, D., Amato, M., Mather, J., Moseley, S.H.,Jr., and Leisawitz, D., “Mission Concept for the Single Aperture Far-Infrared (SAFIR) Observatory,” Astrophysics and Space Science, 294, 177-212, 2004

Kashlinsky, A.; Arendt, R. G.; Mather, J.; Moseley, S. H., \"Tracing the first stars with fluctuations of the cosmic infrared background,\" Nature, Volume 438, Issue 7064, pp. 45-50 (2005)