Pierre Vsevolod Sokolsky is an American physicist, currently a Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Dean Emeritus of the University of Utah College of Science and also a Fellow of 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 ...

Biography

Pierre Sokolsky earned a BA degree in 1967 at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, and a MS and PhD degree in 1969 and 1973 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His doctoral advisor was Alexander Abashian. Following Sokolsky's doctoral degree conferral, he started a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

position at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Sokolsky joined the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

physics faculty in 1981 and was promoted to full professor in 1988. He served as the chair of the physics department from August 2003 to July 2007 after which he became dean of the University of Utah College of Science until 2014. In 2004, Sokolsky spearheaded the University’s $17 million Telescope Array Project located just west of

Delta, Utah Delta is the largest city in Millard County, Utah, Millard County, Utah, United States. It is located in the northeastern area of Millard County along the Sevier River and is surrounded by farmland. The population was 3,622 at the 2020 United St ...

, to study

ultra-high-energy cosmic ray In astroparticle physics, an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) is a cosmic ray with an energy greater than 1 EeV (1018 electronvolts, approximately 0.16 joules), far beyond both the rest mass and energies typical of other cosmic ray part ...

s in a collaboration with scientists from the University of New Mexico, the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

, the University of Tokyo Institute for Cosmic Ray Research and several other Japanese universities. Sokolsky also launched a comprehensive astronomy research program at the University of Utah, including undergraduate and graduate degrees in astronomy. Sokolsky was a Sloan Fellow in 1977 and 2002 he was named a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow and elected a Fellow of the

. In 2006 Sokolsky was awarded the

Utah Governor's Medal for Science and Technology The Utah Governor's Medal for Science and Technology is the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. state of Utah in those fields. It is awarded in the five categories of academia, science education, industry, government, and a special category. ...

for his distinguished service to the State of Utah. In 2008, he received the

Panofsky Prize The Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics is an annual prize of the American Physical Society. It is given to recognize and encourage outstanding achievements in experimental particle physics, and is open to scientists of any nation. It w ...

in Experimental Particle Physics for "the pioneering development of the atmospheric fluorescence technique as a method for exploring the highest energy cosmic rays."

References

1946 births Living people University of Utah faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society University of Chicago alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni 21st-century American physicists American experimental physicists Cosmic ray physicists Sloan Research Fellows Winners of the Panofsky Prize American university and college faculty deans {{US-physicist-stub