George F. Smoot, an influential American physicist recognized for his pivotal role in confirming the Big Bang theory, passed away on September 18 at his home in Paris. He was 80 years old and died from cardiac arrest, as confirmed by his sister, Sharon Bowie.
Dr. Smoot was a key research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. He led a team that developed an instrument in the late 1970s that was later launched into space via the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite in 1989. This instrument measured minute variations in the cosmic microwave background radiation, providing essential evidence for the theory of the universe”s origin through the Big Bang.
At a significant announcement in 1992 during an American Physical Society conference, Dr. Smoot declared findings that illustrated the uneven distribution of cosmic matter, which he described as the “primordial seeds” that eventually formed galaxies and clusters. This revelation made headlines worldwide, including a lead story in The New York Times titled “Scientists Report Profound Insight on How Time Began.” The renowned physicist Stephen Hawking hailed the discovery as “the greatest discovery of the century, if not of all time.”
Dr. Smoot”s work built on earlier discoveries by physicists Arno A. Penzias and Robert W. Wilson, who in 1964 found evidence of the cosmic microwave background radiation, confirming that the universe had a definitive beginning. Prior to these breakthroughs, cosmology existed largely in the realm of theoretical speculation.
In 2006, Dr. Smoot received the Nobel Prize in Physics alongside John C. Mather for their collaborative findings from the COBE project. However, Dr. Smoot”s career was not without controversy; some colleagues felt he received disproportionate credit for the team”s accomplishments, a sentiment exacerbated by a press release from Berkeley Lab that seemingly credited him alone for the discovery.
Born on February 20, 1945, in Yukon, Florida, Dr. Smoot was the son of George Smoot II, a World War II fighter pilot, and Talicia Smoot, an educator. He was raised in a family that valued science and education, which deeply influenced his career path. After earning his degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including a Ph.D. in particle physics, Dr. Smoot shifted his focus to cosmology.
Dr. Smoot”s initial foray into cosmology involved developing instruments to measure cosmic microwave background radiation, leading to significant discoveries about the Milky Way”s movement through space. His proposal to NASA for a space mission resulted in the successful launch of COBE, which measured the temperature of the cosmic microwave background at approximately 2.7 kelvin, just above absolute zero.
In addition to confirming the Big Bang theory, Dr. Smoot”s work provided insights into dark matter and cosmic inflation, which theorizes a rapid expansion of the universe shortly after its inception. Following COBE, further missions, including the Planck observatory, refined these measurements.
Dr. Smoot, who became a professor at Berkeley in 1994, used his Nobel Prize winnings to establish the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics and support cosmology initiatives worldwide. He later joined the faculty at Paris Cité University and contributed to public science education, even appearing on popular television shows.
He is survived by his partner, Nóra Csiszár, and his sister. Dr. Smoot”s legacy lies not only in his groundbreaking scientific contributions but also in his commitment to education and outreach in the field of cosmology.
