David Todd Wilkinson
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David Todd Wilkinson (May 13, 1935 – September 5, 2002) was an American cosmologist, specializing in the study of the cosmic microwave background radiation ( CMB).


Education

Wilkinson was born in
Hillsdale, Michigan Hillsdale is the largest city, and county seat, of Hillsdale County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,036, at the 2020 census. The city is the home of Hillsdale College, a private liberal arts college. History This a ...
on May 13, 1935, and earned his Ph.D. in physics at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
under the supervision of H. Richard Crane.


Research and career

Wilkinson was a Professor of Physics at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
from 1965 until his retirement in 2002. He made fundamental contributions to many major cosmic microwave background experiments, including two
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
satellites: the Cosmic Background Explorer ( COBE) and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ( WMAP), the latter of which was named in his honor after his death due to cancer on September 5, 2002.


Accolades

* Princeton President's Award for Distinguished Teaching * Election to the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
(1983) * James Craig Watson Medal (2001)


References


External links


John Mather and P. James E. Peebles, "David Todd Wilkinson", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2009)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, David 1935 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American astronomers American cosmologists Princeton University faculty Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences People from Hillsdale, Michigan University of Michigan alumni