The Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science was established on the University of California, Berkeley , campus in 1955 after Adolph C. Miller and his wife, Mary Sprague Miller, made a donation to the university. It was their wish that the donation be used to establish an institute "dedicated to the encouragement of creative thought and conduct of pure science".
29-745: The Miller Institute sponsors Miller Research Professors , Visiting Miller Professors and Miller Research Fellows . The first appointments of Miller Professors were made in January 1957. In 2008 the institute created the Miller Senior Fellow program. This program is aimed differently, but is still within the institute's general purpose of supporting excellence in science at Berkeley. The Senior Fellow advances that goal by providing selected faculty with significant discretionary research funds as recognition of distinction in scientific research. The first five-year award went to Professor Randy Schekman , illustrating
58-498: A white dwarf star gains enough additional mass to pass above the Chandrasekhar limit , usually by stealing additional mass from a companion star . Since all Type Ia supernovae are believed to occur in essentially the same way, they form a standard candle whose intrinsic luminosity can be assumed to be approximately the same in all cases. By measuring the apparent luminosity of the explosion from Earth, researchers can then infer
87-512: A 1968 Nobel laureate , who shared his idea with Perlmutter's research adviser. Perlmutter heads the Supernova Cosmology Project at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It was this team along with the competing High-z Supernova Search Team led by Riess and Schmidt, which found evidence of the accelerating expansion of the universe based on observing Type Ia supernova in the distant universe. Type Ia supernova occurs whenever
116-449: A Stellar Companion to the Sun" and supervised by Richard A. Muller , described the development and use of an automated telescope to search for Nemesis candidates. At the same time, he was using this telescope to search for Nemesis and supernovae , which would lead him to his award-winning work in cosmology. Perlmutter attributes the idea for an automated supernova search to Luis Alvarez ,
145-637: A lawyer, and Tova Perlmutter (b. 1967), a nonprofit executive. He is married to Laura Nelson , an anthropologist at University of California, Berkeley , and has one daughter, Noa. Reference to Saul Perlmutter was made on the CBS television comedy series The Big Bang Theory during the 2011 episode " The Speckerman Recurrence ". In the episode, the character Sheldon Cooper watches the Nobel award ceremony on his laptop, and jealously berates Perlmutter: "Look at Dr. Saul Perlmutter up there, clutching that Nobel prize. What's
174-559: A member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Saul Perlmutter was born one of three children in the Ashkenazi Jewish family of Daniel D. Perlmutter , professor emeritus of chemical and biomolecular engineering at University of Pennsylvania , and Felice (Feige) D. Perlmutter (née Davidson), professor emerita of Temple University ’s School of Social Administration. His maternal grandfather,
203-799: Is a U.S. astrophysicist , a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley , where he holds the Franklin W. and Karen Weber Dabby Chair, and head of the International Supernova Cosmology Project at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory . He is a member of both the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the American Philosophical Society , and was elected a Fellow of
232-752: The American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2003. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences . Perlmutter shared the 2006 Shaw Prize in Astronomy , the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics , and the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics with Brian P. Schmidt and Adam Riess for providing evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating . Since 2021, he has been
261-781: The Yiddish teacher Samuel Davidson (1903–1989), emigrated to Canada (and then with his wife Chaika Newman to New York ) from the Bessarabian town of Floreşti in 1919. Perlmutter spent his childhood in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia . He went to school in nearby Germantown ; first Greene Street Friends School for the elementary grades, followed by Germantown Friends School for grades 7 through 12. He graduated with an AB in physics from Harvard magna cum laude in 1981 and received his PhD in physics from Berkeley in 1986. Perlmutter's PhD thesis, titled "An Astrometric Search for
290-616: The Miller Institute was publishing its 30 Year Report and Executive Director Robert Ornduff used the knot on its cover. It was not used again until the early 1990s, when it was rediscovered among many potential logo options and was selected to thereafter be used as the Miller Institute's logo. 37°52′05″N 122°15′27″W / 37.867950°N 122.257468°W / 37.867950; -122.257468 Miller Research Professors The Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science
319-487: The Miller Institute was publishing its 30 Year Report and Executive Director Robert Ornduff used the knot on its cover. It was not used again until the early 1990s, when it was rediscovered among many potential logo options and was selected to thereafter be used as the Miller Institute's logo. 37°52′05″N 122°15′27″W / 37.867950°N 122.257468°W / 37.867950; -122.257468 Saul Perlmutter Saul Perlmutter (born September 22, 1959)
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#1732872915131348-572: The accelerating expansion of the universe. In 2010, Perlmutter was named a Miller Senior Fellow of the Miller Institute at the University of California Berkeley . In 2011, Perlmutter and Riess were named co-recipients of the Albert Einstein Medal . Perlmutter shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics with Riess and Schmidt. The Nobel Prize includes a SEK 10 million cash award (approximately US$ 1.5 million). Perlmutter received one-half of
377-406: The billions of years since the supernovae occurred. The High-z Team also came to a similar conclusion. The two teams' reports were published within weeks of each other, and their conclusions were readily accepted by the scientific community due to corroborating theories. This conclusion has subsequently been supported by other lines of evidence. These findings reinvigorated research into the nature of
406-531: The cash prize, while Riess and Schmidt shared the other half. In 2014, Perlmutter received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . Perlmutter, Schmidt, Riess and their teams shared the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics with $ 3 million to be split among them. A United States Department of Energy 2020 supercomputer is named Perlmutter in his honor. Saul Perlmutter has two sisters: Shira Perlmutter (b. 1956),
435-483: The distance to supernova. Comparing this inferred distance to the apparent redshift of the explosion allows the observer to measure both the distance and relative velocity of the supernova. The Supernova Cosmology Project concluded that these distant supernovae were receding more quickly than would be expected due to the Hubble expansion alone, and, by inference, the expansion of the universe must have been accelerated over
464-464: The doctoral degree and are selected on the basis of their academic achievement and the promise of their scientific research. The institute seeks to discover and encourage individuals of outstanding talent, and to provide them with the opportunity to pursue their research on the Berkeley campus. Each Miller Fellow is sponsored by an academic department on the Berkeley campus and performs his or her research in
493-413: The doctoral degree and are selected on the basis of their academic achievement and the promise of their scientific research. The institute seeks to discover and encourage individuals of outstanding talent, and to provide them with the opportunity to pursue their research on the Berkeley campus. Each Miller Fellow is sponsored by an academic department on the Berkeley campus and performs his or her research in
522-406: The facilities provided by the host Berkeley faculty member. In 1985, Miller Fellow Steven A. Wasserman, his Berkeley faculty host, Nick Cozzarelli , and colleagues published a paper in science entitled, "Discovery of a Predicted DNA Knot Substantiates a Model for Site-Specific Recombination". The paper included an electron micrograph of a single length of double-stranded DNA in six-noded knot. This
551-405: The facilities provided by the host Berkeley faculty member. In 1985, Miller Fellow Steven A. Wasserman, his Berkeley faculty host, Nick Cozzarelli , and colleagues published a paper in science entitled, "Discovery of a Predicted DNA Knot Substantiates a Model for Site-Specific Recombination". The paper included an electron micrograph of a single length of double-stranded DNA in six-noded knot. This
580-653: The high standard of the Senior Fellows. The 2010 Miller Senior Fellow, Saul Perlmutter , was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011. He shares the prize with former Miller Fellow Adam Riess (MF 1996–98) and Brian Schmidt . Randy Schekman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2013. The Miller Institute invites faculty from around the world to submit nominations for Miller Fellows. Fellowships are intended for exceptional young scientists newly awarded
609-490: The high standard of the Senior Fellows. The 2010 Miller Senior Fellow, Saul Perlmutter , was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011. He shares the prize with former Miller Fellow Adam Riess (MF 1996–98) and Brian Schmidt . Randy Schekman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2013. The Miller Institute invites faculty from around the world to submit nominations for Miller Fellows. Fellowships are intended for exceptional young scientists newly awarded
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#1732872915131638-433: The institute created the Miller Senior Fellow program. This program is aimed differently, but is still within the institute's general purpose of supporting excellence in science at Berkeley. The Senior Fellow advances that goal by providing selected faculty with significant discretionary research funds as recognition of distinction in scientific research. The first five-year award went to Professor Randy Schekman , illustrating
667-515: The matter Saul, you afraid somebody's going to steal it? Like you stole Einstein's cosmological constant?" Then later: "Oh, now Perlmutter's shaking the King's hand. Yeah, check for your watch, Gustaf, he might have lifted it." Perlmutter was also referenced in the 2011 episode of The Big Bang Theory , " The Rhinitis Revelation ". In a conversation with his mother, Sheldon says, "I’ve got a treat for us tomorrow, Mom. I’m taking you to see Saul Perlmutter give
696-538: The rate at which the universe has been accelerating. He is also a participant in the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project, which aims to increase our understanding of recent global warming through improved analyses of climate data. Perlmutter is a professor and currently teaches at UC Berkeley. In 2002, Perlmutter won the Department of Energy 's E. O. Lawrence Award in Physics . In 2003, he
725-478: The universe, and especially into the role of dark energy . For this work Perlmutter was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics , shared jointly with Riess and Schmidt. Perlmutter is also a lead investigator in the Supernova/Acceleration Probe project, which aims to build a satellite dedicated to finding and studying more supernovae in the distant universe. The goal is to more precisely determine
754-892: Was awarded the California Scientist of the Year Award, and, in 2005, he won the John Scott Award and the Padua Prize. In 2006, he shared the Shaw Prize in Astronomy with Adam Riess and Brian P. Schmidt . The same year, Perlmutter won the Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize . Perlmutter and his team shared the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize (a $ 500,000 award) with Schmidt and the High-Z Team for discovering
783-523: Was established on the University of California, Berkeley , campus in 1955 after Adolph C. Miller and his wife, Mary Sprague Miller, made a donation to the university. It was their wish that the donation be used to establish an institute "dedicated to the encouragement of creative thought and conduct of pure science". The Miller Institute sponsors Miller Research Professors , Visiting Miller Professors and Miller Research Fellows . The first appointments of Miller Professors were made in January 1957. In 2008
812-451: Was photographed at x40,000 primary magnification. During a talk by Cozzarelli, Nobel Prize winner, Ilya Prigogine was in the audience. He mentioned that in his private art collection he had a 3rd-century A.D. Roman bas relief which showed the identical knot form described in the paper. A photograph of this bas relief became the cover art for the July 12, 1985 issue of Science. That same year,
841-402: Was photographed at x40,000 primary magnification. During a talk by Cozzarelli, Nobel Prize winner, Ilya Prigogine was in the audience. He mentioned that in his private art collection he had a 3rd-century A.D. Roman bas relief which showed the identical knot form described in the paper. A photograph of this bas relief became the cover art for the July 12, 1985 issue of Science. That same year,
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