November 5, 2015
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
Eiichiro Komatsu with a model of WMAP Satellite
(Image Credit: Hiroto Kawabata)
Eiichiro Komatsu, a director at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and a Kavli IPMU Visiting Senior Scientist, has been named a 2015 Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS).
Less than 0.5% of APS members are selected to become APS fellows, a title awarded to researchers who have made great contributions to the field. Komatsu was selected by the Division of Astrophysics of APS for his pioneering use of the bispectrum to study the physics of the early universe and for playing a leading role in the analysis of Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data.
“I am honored to be elected as APS Fellow. I would like to thank those who nominated me for this honor. I left USA for Germany three years ago, but USA will remain as a special place for me because I could become a mature scientist thanks to my 13 years there. It means a lot to me to be recognized by the members of APS,” said Komatsu.
Other astrophysicists who have been named APS fellows recently include 2006 Nobel Laureate George Smoot and 2011 Nobel Laureate Saul Perlmutter. Japanese astrophysicist Sachio Hayakawa, who lead Japan’s X-ray and infrared astronomy after WWII, was also an APS fellow. Kavli IPMU Principal Investigator and Princeton University professor David Spergel, who worked with Komatsu on the WMAP project, was also named a fellow in 2013.
Between 2001 and 2010 Komatsu was a part of the WMAP science team studying the Cosmic Microwave Background. To date, WMAP has made significant contributions to cosmology, including accurate determinations of the cosmological parameters such as the age and composition of the Universe, and finding strong evidence for cosmic inflation.
Eiichiro Komatsu timeline
2001 WMAP Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Princeton University
2003 Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
2008 Associate Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
2008 - 2010 Visiting Scientist, Kavli IPMU
2009 - 2012 Director, Texas Cosmology Center, The University of Texas at Austin
2010 - 2012 Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
2010 - Visiting Senior Scientist, Kavli IPMU
2012 - Director, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
Related Links
American Physical Society
Eiichiro Komatsu website
Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
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