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Goddard Scientist Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC –Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) today released the following statement congratulating NASA Goddard scientist John Mather for being awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in physics.
“On behalf of the Fifth Congressional District, I want to congratulate John Mather, a scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt and a University of Maryland adjunct professor, for winning the 2006 Nobel Prize in physics.
“Called by a member of the Nobel committee the greatest discovery of the century, Mather was the driving force behind a project that gave the big-bang theory its strongest support to date.
“Mather and his colleague discovered the nature of ‘blackbody radiation,’ believed to stem from the big-bang when the universe was born.
“Their work was spearheaded by NASA’s COBE satellite, which was launched into orbit in 1989. With their groundbreaking discovery, the scientists moved the study of the early universe from theory into a measurable form.
“The close proximity of NASA Goddard and the University of Maryland constitutes one of the greatest sectors of brainpower in the nation. The men and women that serve there are leaders in the fields of science and technology.
“Last year, Thomas Schelling, a University of Maryland professor and fifty year expert in the concept known as ‘game theory,’ won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
“Today, John Mather has again brought pride and distinction to the 5th Congressional District, the state of Maryland, and our nation.”
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