Irwin Ira Shapiro is an American astrophysicist and Timken University Professor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He has been a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at Harvard since 1982. He was the director of the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian from 1982 to 2004.

Career

A native of New York, Shapiro graduated from

Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is a public specialized high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is on ...

in New York City. He later received his B.A. in

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, and later a M.A. and Ph.D in

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

from

. He joined the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

Lincoln Laboratory The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and dev ...

in 1954 and became a professor of physics there in 1967. In 1982, he took a position as professor and

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

at his alma mater, Harvard, and also became director of the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian. In 1997, he became the first Timken University Professor at the university. Shapiro's research interests include

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, th ...

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

gravitation In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

, including the use of

gravitational lens A gravitational lens is matter, such as a galaxy cluster, cluster of galaxies or a point particle, that bends light from a distant source as it travels toward an observer. The amount of gravitational lensing is described by Albert Einstein's Ge ...

es to assess the

age of the universe In physical cosmology, the age of the universe is the cosmological time, time elapsed since the Big Bang: 13.79 billion years. Astronomers have two different approaches to determine the age of the universe. One is based on a particle physics ...

. In 1981,

Edward Bowell Edward L. G. "Ted" Bowell (born 1943 in London, died August 21 2023 in Flagstaff, Arizona), was an American astronomer. Bowell was educated at Emanuel School London, University College, London, and the University of Paris. He was principal invest ...

discovered the 3832 main belt asteroid and it was later named after Shapiro by his former student Steven J. Ostro.

Recognition

Honors and awards

* Albert A. Michelson Medal from the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...

(1975) *

Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics The Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics is jointly awarded each year by the American Astronomical Society and American Institute of Physics for outstanding work in astrophysics. It is funded by the Heineman Foundation in honour of Dannie Hein ...

from the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

(1983) *Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

(1984) * Brouwer Award from the

's Division on Dynamical Astronomy (1988) * Charles A. Whitten Medal from the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, Atmospheric science, atmospheric, Oceanography, ocean, Hydrology, hydrologic, Astronomy, space, and Planetary science, planetary scientists and enthusiasts that ...

(1991) *

William Bowie Medal The William Bowie Medal is awarded annually by the American Geophysical Union for "outstanding contributions to fundamental geophysics and for unselfish cooperation in research". The award is the highest honor given by the AGU and is named in honor ...

from the

(1993) * Albert Einstein Medal from the Albert Einstein Society (1994) * Gerard P. Kuiper Prize from the

's Division for Planetary Sciences (1997) * Einstein Prize from the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

(2013) *Elected Member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1998. *Elected a Legacy Fellow of the

in 2020.

Eponyms

Shapiro time delay The Shapiro time delay effect, or gravitational time delay effect, is one of the four classic Solar System tests of general relativity. Radar signals passing near a massive object take slightly longer to travel to a target and longer to return th ...

, discovered by Shapiro in 1964 * 3832 Shapiro, asteroid named after Shapiro in 1981

References

External links

Harvard profileOral history interview transcript with Irwin I. Shapiro on 23 April 2020, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & ArchivesShapiro papers from 1965-1990
from the

Smithsonian Institution Archives Smithsonian Libraries and Archives is an institutional archives and library system comprising 21 branch libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers. The Libraries and Archives serve Smithsonian Institution ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Irwin I. Living people Brooklyn Technical High School alumni Scientists from New York City American astrophysicists Cornell University alumni Harvard University alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty Harvard University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences American relativity theorists Winners of the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics Albert Einstein Medal recipients MIT Lincoln Laboratory people Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the American Astronomical Society Year of birth missing (living people)