I am saddened to share that George F. Smoot III, a pioneering astrophysicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics, has passed away at the age of 80. George joined UC Berkeley in 1971 and Berkeley Lab in 1974, where he spent a distinguished career uncovering the secrets of the universe.
At Berkeley Lab, George was the leader of a research team that produced detailed maps of the infant universe. They revealed a pattern of minuscule temperature variations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), relic light from billions of years ago. Those early tiny fluctuations evolved into the galaxies we observe today. George was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with John Mather of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, for “their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation.”
After graduating from MIT with degrees in math and physics, George turned his attention to cosmology – then considered a fringe field. He used an instrument called a Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR), flown on a U-2 airplane, to find evidence of the Doppler effect as our galaxy moves through the universe relative to the CMB. He went on to lead the team that developed the DMRs that flew on NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite and made the Nobel Prize-winning “baby picture” of the universe. The findings provided strong support for the Big Bang theory and established cosmology as a truly quantitative science.
George’s contributions to cosmology were recognized with many other awards, including NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (1992), the Department of Energy’s E.O. Lawrence Award (1994), the Albert Einstein Medal (2003), and the Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2006). He was elected a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Physical Society, and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors for his development of instrumentation to study the CMB.
In addition to his groundbreaking research, George was committed to engaging with the public and helping the next generation of scientists. He wrote a popular book about cosmology and the CMB experiments entitled Wrinkles in Time. In 2007, he used a portion of his Nobel award to launch the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics at UC Berkeley, which was established as a premier cosmological research center to support postdoctoral students, graduate students, and faculty.
After retiring from Berkeley Lab in 2014, Smoot continued to engage actively in scientific research and education. In 2009, he joined Université Paris-Cité as an affiliate of the Laboratoire Astroparticule et Cosmologie, and as a professor of physics, he mentored postdocs and played an instrumental role in the founding of the Paris Center for Cosmological Physics. He also launched the long-running Physics In and Through Cosmology Workshop, an annual outreach event hosted by the Berkeley Lab Physics Division for Bay Area high school physics teachers and students, now in its nineteenth year.
Please join me in honoring the legacy of George Smoot.
Best regards,
Mike
5 Comments
Amazing scientist, collegial gentleman, and terrific human being. George Smoot always took the time to chat or return a hello to everyone up and down the Lab hierarchy. One time I brought my young kids to visit the Lab and he went out of this way to greet them and make introductions. He would often pop into meetings in Bldg. 50A-4112 to bring cookies to staff. Around 2006, he joined the Lab Dance Club in anticipation of having to learn the waltz for various Nobel ceremonial galas. It was endearingly humorous to watch a man who had unlocked the secrets of the universe struggling to master a simple box-step. He was courageous and incurably inquisitive in that way, taking risks to learn something new and outside of his comfort zone, to wit: putting it all on the line to appear on Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader (imagine the ribbing he would have gotten if he hadn’t won!). The world will miss George Smoot, as most certainly shall we.
Saddened by George’s passing. I had the pleasure of working with George and Andy Buffington when I was a graduate student at Berkeley starting in 1977. My first summer research position was in their group under Luis Alvarez. I worked on an antimatter experiment with Andy but we had a lot of interaction with George. He was a very easy person to work with and always willing to help. I got to tag along with George, Phil Lubin and Scott Friedman on one of the trips to NASA Ames to fly their CMB experiment in the NASA ER-2. it was nice of George to let me me tag along. My condolences to his family and friends.
I was very saddened to hear of George’s passing. He was a sweet, humble, and kind man who was down to earth (pun intended) and had a special way of making everyone feel comfortable around him. I looked forward to his many visits to the Directorate, where he would stop by just to take a little break to chat and enjoy some chocolate that was kept out for visitors (he loved his chocolate!). I will always remember him fondly for the way he connected with those of us who weren’t scientists, and for his wonderful stories. He will be greatly missed.
Reading his book and this eulogy, professor Smoot left behind more than an exceptional career in science. He used his prize money to contribute further to the continuation of science. He mentored many postgraduate students and early career scientists.
Legacy is an understatement when it comes to larger than life people. His work will branch out into the work of other people and ensure that science is at the forefront of understanding our Universe.
May he rest in piece.
George Smoot’s passing is a loss for science and for all who delight in discovery. As the longest-serving program manager of NASA’s COBE mission, I witnessed firsthand how George and John Mather transformed cosmology—turning whispers in the cosmic microwave background into a precise map of our origins. I was thrilled to represent NASA at the White House celebration honoring them, accompanied by NASA Chief Engineer Rex Geveden; George looked so happy among friends and dignitaries, wasting no time before diving back into the science. His work—and his joy in the work—reminded us that there are many paths into science and many kinds of scientists: builders, dreamers, meticulous measurers, and inspired explainers. George embraced them all. I will miss him, and I’m grateful for the universe he helped us see more clearly.