Charles L. Bennett

Charles Leonard Bennett (born November 1956) is an American observational astrophysicist. He is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, the Alumni Centennial Professor of Physics and Astronomy and a Gilman Scholar at Johns Hopkins University. He is the Principal Investigator of NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). Membership is a great honor bestowed upon the most distinguished scholars in engineering and the sciences.

In 2002, the International Statistical Institute named him the most Highly Cited Researcher in space science worldwide. In 2004, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He was awarded the National Academy of Sciences Henry Draper Medal in 2005 and the Comstock Prize in Physics in 2009, both for his leadership of WMAP. Bennett received the Harvey Prize in 2006 for, "the precise determination of the age, composition and curvature of the universe." Bennett shared the 2010 Shaw Prize in astronomy with Lyman A. Page, Jr. and David N. Spergel, both of Princeton University, for their work on WMAP. The 2012 Gruber Cosmology Prize was awarded to "Charles L. Bennett and the WMAP Team" for "transforming our current paradigm of structure formation from appealing scenario into precise science." "By observing the relic radiation from the early universe, Charles L. Bennett and the WMAP team established the Standard Cosmological Model." Bennett was named the 2013 Karl G. Jansky Prize Lecturer.

In 2015 Bennett was awarded the Caterina Tomassoni and Felice Pietro Chisesi Prize "For Dr. Bennett's leadership in two experiments on the Cosmic Microwave Background that literally changed our view of the Universe: COBE-DMR, leading to the discovery of primordial spatial fluctuations in the CMB, and WMAP, leading to precise measurements of the cosmological parameters and establishing -de facto- the Standard Cosmological Model". Bennett was named for the 2017 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize: "Professor Charles L Bennett, the leader of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), has had a transformative effect in cosmology. WMAP has, through its incredibly precise measurements of temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), revolutionized our understanding of the universe. It transformed cosmology from an order-of-magnitude game to a precision experimental science." The American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAAS) awarded its 2021 Rumford Prize to Dr. Bennett "For his contributions to the field of cosmology." AAAS President, David Oxtoby, said, “Professor Bennett’s spectacular work helped transform cosmology into an integral component in the quest for the fundamental laws of physics. His trailblazing work gives us an unprecedented, precise view of the universe, and more importantly, reminds us of the joys and possibilities of scientific discovery.”

The full list of awards includes: 2006 Gruber Cosmology Prize (awarded to John Mather and the COBE Team for "ground-breaking studies confirming that our universe was born in a hot Big Bang.") 2006 The Harvey Prize of the Technion 2009 Comstock Prize in Physics of the National Academy of Sciences

Highly Cited Articles (more than 2000 citations)

2009 with E Komatsu, J Dunkley, MR Nolta, B Gold, G Hinshaw, N Jarosik, D Larson, M Limon, L Page, DN Spergel, M Halpern, RS Hill, A Kogut, SS Meyer, GS Tucker, JL Weiland, E Wollack, EL Wright, Five-year wilkinson microwave anistropy probe* observations: cosmological interpretation, in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 180, nº 2; 330. 2003 with DN Spergel, L Verde, HV Peiris, E Komatsu, MR Nolta, M Halpern, G Hinshaw, N Jarosik, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, L Page, GS Tucker, JL Weiland, E Wollack, EL Wright, First-year Wilkinson Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)* observations: determination of cosmological parameters, in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 148, nº 1; 175. 2007 with DN Spergel, R Bean, O Doré, MR Nolta, Joanna Dunkley, G Hinshaw, N ea Jarosik, E Komatsu, L Page, HV Peiris, L Verde, M Halpern, RS Hill, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, N Odegard, GS Tucker, JL Weiland, E Wollack, EL Wright, Three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observations: implications for cosmology, in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 170, nº 2; 377. 2003 with M Bay, M Halpern, G Hinshaw, C Jackson, N Jarosik, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, L Page, DN Spergel, GS Tucker, DT Wilkinson, E Wollack, EL Wright, The Microwave Anisotropy Probe* Mission, in The Astrophysical Journal. Vol. 583, nº 1; 1. 2013 with G Hinshaw, D Larson, E Komatsu, DN Spergel, Joanna Dunkley, MR Nolta, M Halpern, RS Hill, N Odegard, L Page, KM Smith, JL Weiland, B Gold, N Jarosik, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, GS Tucker, E Wollack, EL Wright, Nine-year Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observaitons: cosmological parameter results, in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 208, nº 2; 19. 1992 with GF Smoot, A Kogut, EL Wright, J Aymon, NW Boggess, ES Cheng, G De Amici, S Gulkis, MG Hauser, G Hinshaw, PD Jackson, M Janssen, E Kaita, T Kelsall, P Keegstra, C Lineweaver, K Loewenstein, P Lubin, J Mather, SS Meyer, SH Moseley, T Murdock, L Rokke, RF Silverberg, L Tenorio, R Weiss, DT Wilkinson, Structure in the COBE differential microwave radiometer first-year maps, in The Astrophysical Journal. Vol. 396; L1-L5. 2013 with D Larson, JL Weiland, N Jarosik, G Hinshaw, N Odegard, KM Smith, RS Hill, B Gold, M Halpern, E Komatsu, MR Nolta, L Page, David N Spergel, E Wollack, J Dunkley, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, GS Tucker, EL Wright, Nine-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observations: final maps and results, in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 208, nº 2; 20. 2009 with G Hinshaw, JL Weiland, RS Hill, N Odegard, D Larson, J Dunkley, B Gold, MR Greason, N Jarosik, Eiichiro Komatsu, MR Nolta, L Page, DN Spergel, E Wollack, M Halpern, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, GS Tucker, EL Wrigh, Five-year wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe* observations: data processing, sky maps, and basic results, in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 180, nº 2; 225.