Peter Goldreich

Peter Goldreich (born July 14, 1939) is an American astrophysicist whose research focuses on planetary rings, helioseismology and neutron stars. [cite web|url = http://www.astro.caltech.edu/department/bluebook/goldreich.html|title = Caltech Astronomy : Peter Goldreich's Research Interests] He is currently the Lee DuBridge Professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Physics at California Institute of Technology. Since 2005 he has also been a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. [cite web|url = http://www.france-science.org/home/page.asp?target=news&ID=848|title = L’Académie des Sciences remet la Grande Médaille 2006 à l'astrophysicien américain Peter Goldreich] cite web|url = http://www.ias.edu/about/publications/the-institute-letter-archive/04Winter|title = PETER GOLDREICH APPOINTED FACULTY MEMBER IN THE SCHOOL OF NATURAL SCIENCES] Asteroid 3805 Goldreich is named after him. [cite web|url = http://scully.cfa.harvard.edu/~cgi/ShowCitation.COM?num=3805|title = Citation for (3805)|publisher = Minor Planet Center]

Career

Goldreich received a bachelor of science in engineering physics from Cornell in 1960, and obtained a Ph.D. from Cornell university in 1963 under the supervision of Thomas Gold. [cite web|url = http://www.ias.edu/about/faculty-and-emeriti/goldreich|title = Institute for Advanced Study: Faculty and Emeriti: Goldreich] cite web|url = http://www.sns.ias.edu/~pmg/|title = Peter Goldreich] [cite web|url = http://intl.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/305/5680/39b?ck=nck|title = Random Samples] cite web|url = http://www.pma.caltech.edu/GSR/pmahonors.html|title = PMA Division News Honors & Awards] In 1963 and 1964 Goldreich was a postdoctoral fellow at Cambridge University. [cite web|url = http://www.bibalex.org/Eclipse2006/FrontiersSpeakers/Peter%20Goldreich.htm|title = Prof. Peter Goldreich: Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Astrophysics & Planetary Physics, Caltech] Goldreich joined the faculty at Caltech in 1966 as an associate professor.cite web|url = http://today.caltech.edu/today/story-archive?section_id=11226|title = Archives for Honors and Awards] He later became a full professor in 1969 while remaining at Caltech, and in 1981 he became the Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Astrophysics & Planetary Physics also at Caltech.

cientific Accomplishments

Goldreich and Alar Toomre first described the process of polar wander in a 1969 paper, although evidence of paleomagnetism was not discovered until later. [cite web|url = http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/287/5452/406?ck=nck|title = Did the Dinosaurs Live on a Topsy-Turvy Earth?] Goldreich collaborated with George Abell to conclude that planetary nebulae evolved from red giant stars, a view that is now widely accepted. [cite web|url = http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=hb4d5nb20m&doc.view=content&chunk.id=div00002&toc.depth=1&brand=calisphere&anchor.id=0|title = University of California: In Memoriam, 1985] [cite web|url = http://parked.ihwy.com/~barbour/jeff/books/Stars_by_Night/march_2006.html|title = The Stars by Night and Day] In 1979 Goldreich, along with Scott Tremaine predicted that Saturn's F ring was maintained by shepherd moons, a prediction that would be confirmed by observations in 1980. [cite web|url = http://www.solarviews.com/eng/saturnbg.htm|title = Historical Background of Saturn's Rings] [cite web|url = http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2002-190|title = Chaos Seen in Movement of Ring-Herding Moons of Saturn] [cite web|url = http://partners.nytimes.com/library/national/science/062789sci-nasa-saturn.html|title = New Clues Emerge in Mystery of Planetary Rings] [cite web|url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1511/is_v7/ai_5083814/pg_9|title = Voyager was on target again; in the latest unmanned triumph, Voyager 2 surveyed Uranus and sent back a real bull's-eye] They also predicted that Uranus' rings were held in place by similar shepherd moons, a prediction that was confirmed in 1986. [cite web|url = http://ciar.ca/web/home.nsf/pages/home.0380|title = Cosmologist Scott Tremaine receives two honors] Goldreich, along with Tremaine predicted planetary migration in 1980, which would later be invoked to explain hot jupiters. [cite web|url = http://media4.obspm.fr/exoplanets/pages_histoire/trois-premieres.html|title = The three first giant exoplanets] [cite web|url = http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc083199.html|title = PLUTO, KBOs AND A NEW THEORY OF PLANETARY FORMATION] [cite web|url = http://intl.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/276/5317/1336?ck=nck|title = Worlds Around Other Stars Shake Planet Birth Theory]

Awards and Honors

* Woodrow Wilson Honorary Fellowship, 1960-1961
* Andrew Dixon White Fellowship, 1960-1961
* National Foundation Fellowship, 1961-1963
* National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1963-1964
* Sloan Foundation Fellowship, 1968-1970
* Elected to National Academy of Sciences, 1972cite web|url = http://origins.mcmaster.ca/plec/petergoldreich.html|title = Origins Institute - Public Lectures - Peter Goldreich]
* Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1973
* Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society, 1979
* California Scientist of the Year, 1981 [cite web|url = http://www.californiasciencecenter.org/GenInfo/NewsAndEvents/SpecialPrograms/ScientistOfTheYear/PastSotY/PastSotY.php|title = California Scientist of the Year Award Recipients]
* Chapman Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1985
* Brouwer Award of the Division on Dynamical Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society, 1986
* Amos de Shalit Lecturer at the Weizmann Institute, 1986
* Thomas Gold Lecturer at Cornell University, 1987
* Regents Fellow, Smithsonian Institution, 1988-1990
* Miller Professorship, University of California, Berkeley, 1990
* Gerard P. Kuiper Prize of the Division for Planetary Science, American Astronomical Society, 1992 [cite web|url = http://www.aas.org/dps/MISC_NOTICES/030921_prizes2003.html|title = YEAR 2003 DPS AWARD RECIPIENTS]
* Morris Loeb Lecturer, Harvard University, 1992
* Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1993 [cite web|url = http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/intercom_1997/March20/CURRENT/news4.html|title = Professor of astrophysics to give lecture series on planets] In 1995, Goldreich received the National Medal of Science for "his profound and lasting contributions to planetary sciences and astrophysics, providing fundamental theoretical insights for understanding the rotation of planets, the dynamics of planetary rings, pulsars, astrophysical masers, the spiral arms of galaxies, and the oscillations of the Sun". [cite web|url = http://www.nsf.gov/od/nms/recip_details.cfm?recip_id=141|title = The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details ] [cite web|url = http://www.jinfo.org/Medal_of_Science.html|title = JEWISH RECIPIENTS OF THE US NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE]

Goldreich was awarded the Grande Médaille of the French Academy of Science in 2006 for his numerous contributions in the field of Astrophysics. [cite web|url = http://www.france-science.org/home/page.asp?target=news&ID=850|title = French Academy of Science awards Grand Medal to astrophysicist Peter Goldreich] [cite web|url = http://autonomy.caltech.edu/autonomy/TierscalablePress/Archives%20for%20Honors%20and%20Awards.pdf|title = Archives for Honors and Awards] [cite web|url = http://www.ias.edu/about/publications/06Fall/|title = Institute for Advanced Study: The Institute Letter: ]

Goldreich received the 2007 Shaw Prize in Astronomy "in recognition of his lifetime achievements in theoretical astrophysics and planetary sciences". [cite web|url = in recognition of his lifetime achievements in theoretical astrophysics and planetary sciences|title = The Shaw Prize - Peter Goldreich - Announcement and Citation|accessdate = 2007-06-14]

References

External links

* [http://www.sns.ias.edu/~pmg/ Goldreich's website at the Institute for Advanced Study]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-abs_connect?db_key=AST&qform=AST&sim_query=YES&ned_query=YES&aut_logic=OR&obj_logic=OR&author=goldreich%2C+p.&object=&start_mon=&start_year=&end_mon=&end_year=&ttl_logic=OR&title=&txt_logic=OR&text=&nr_to_return=100&start_nr=1&jou_pick=ALL&ref_stems=&data_and=ALL&group_and=ALL&start_entry_day=&start_entry_mon=&start_entry_year=&end_entry_day=&end_entry_mon=&end_entry_year=&min_score=&sort=SCORE&data_type=SHORT&aut_syn=YES&ttl_syn=YES&txt_syn=YES&aut_wt=1.0&obj_wt=1.0&ttl_wt=0.3&txt_wt=3.0&aut_wgt=YES&obj_wgt=YES&ttl_wgt=YES&txt_wgt=YES&ttl_sco=YES&txt_sco=YES&version=1 Scholarly Publications by Peter Goldreich]