David Todd Wilkinson
David Todd Wilkinson (born May 13, 1935 in Hillsdale , Michigan , USA ; † September 5, 2002 in Princeton , New Jersey , USA) was an American astrophysicist and cosmologist who studied the cosmic microwave background .
Life
Wilkinson was born in Hillsdale, Michigan. He studied and earned bachelor, master and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan . From 1963 he was a research assistant and from 1965 until his retirement in 2002 professor at Princeton University . In 1966 he became a Sloan Research Fellow .
He was part of Robert H. Dicke's team , which, based on the predictions of George Gamow and colleagues, was looking for cosmic background radiation, which was first discovered by chance by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson . Wilkinson later made significant contributions to several experiments investigating the cosmic microwave background, including the two NASA projects Cosmic Background Explorer and Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe . The latter was named in his honor after Wilkinson's cancer death.
Awards
- 1983 membership in the National Academy of Sciences
- 1984 membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 2001 James Craig Watson Medal
Web links
- DT Wilkinson publications in the Astrophysics Data System
- JC Mather , L. Page, PJ Peebles : David Todd Wilkinson, 1935-2002. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 35 (2003), No. 5, pp. 1480–1481 (obituary, English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wilkinson, David Todd |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American astrophysicist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 13, 1935 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hillsdale |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 5, 2002 |
| Place of death | Princeton |