Christopher Stubbs
Encyclopedia
Christopher Stubbs is an experimental physicist
currently on the faculty at Harvard University
in both the Department of Physics and the Department of Astronomy. He is a former Chair of Harvard's Department of Physics.
from the University of Virginia
in 1981. He received his Ph.D. in physics
from the University of Washington
in 1988 working with Professor Eric Adelberger on experimental tests of gravity. His Ph.D. thesis ruled out the idea of a fifth force
, a proposed long range modification of gravity.
Experimental physics
Within the field of physics, experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines concerned with the observation of physical phenomena in order to gather data about the universe...
currently on the faculty at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in both the Department of Physics and the Department of Astronomy. He is a former Chair of Harvard's Department of Physics.
Biography
Stubbs received an International Baccalaureate degree from Iranzamin International School in Tehran and received a B.Sc. in physicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1981. He received his Ph.D. in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in 1988 working with Professor Eric Adelberger on experimental tests of gravity. His Ph.D. thesis ruled out the idea of a fifth force
Fifth force
Occasionally, physicists have postulated the existence of a fifth force in addition to the four known fundamental forces. The force is generally believed to have roughly the strength of gravity Occasionally, physicists have postulated the existence of a fifth force in addition to the four known...
, a proposed long range modification of gravity.
Current Projects
- Large Synoptic Survey TelescopeLarge Synoptic Survey TelescopeThe Large Synoptic Survey Telescope is a planned wide-field "survey" reflecting telescope that will photograph the available sky every three nights. The LSST is currently in its design and development phase and will achieve engineering first light four years after construction starts...
(LSST) - Probing Dark EnergyDark energyIn physical cosmology, astronomy and celestial mechanics, dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to accelerate the expansion of the universe. Dark energy is the most accepted theory to explain recent observations that the universe appears to be expanding...
with galaxy clusters - Precise calibration of astronomical instruments
- Builder status on the PanSTARRS Project
- Galaxy cluster redshifts from the South Pole TelescopeSouth Pole TelescopeThe South Pole Telescope is a 10 metre diameter telescope located at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica. It is a microwave/millimetre-wave telescope that observes in a frequency range between 70 and 300 GHz...
- Testing foundations of gravity with lunar laser ranging, the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging OperationApache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging OperationThe Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation, or APOLLO, is a project at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico. It is an extension and advancement of previous Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment, which uses retroreflectors on the Moon to track changes in lunar orbital distance and...
.
Past Projects
- Laboratory tests of the equivalence principle (with EotWash group, University of Washington)
- Member of MACHO gravitational microlensingGravitational microlensingGravitational microlensing is an astronomical phenomenon due to the gravitational lens effect. It can be used to detect objects ranging from the mass of a planet to the mass of a star, regardless of the light they emit. Typically, astronomers can only detect bright objects that emit lots of light ...
project, a search for dark matterDark matterIn astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...
in the Milky Way that ruled out astrophysical objects as being the dark matter in our Galaxy. - Member of High-z Supernova Search TeamHigh-z Supernova Search TeamThe High-z Supernova Search Team was an international cosmology collaboration which used Type Ia Supernovae to chart the expansion of the Universe. The team was formed in 1994 by Brian P. Schmidt, then a post-doctoral research associate at Harvard University, and Nicholas B. Suntzeff, a staff...
, co-discovered the so called dark energyDark energyIn physical cosmology, astronomy and celestial mechanics, dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to accelerate the expansion of the universe. Dark energy is the most accepted theory to explain recent observations that the universe appears to be expanding...
. - Lead Scientist of the ESSENCE supernova cosmology survey, which is probing the nature of the Dark Energy.
- Past Project Scientist for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)
Awards
- Packard Fellow
- 1996: NAS Award for Initiatives in ResearchNAS Award for Initiatives in ResearchThe NAS Award for Initiatives in Research is awarded annually by the National Academy of Sciences "to recognize innovative young scientists and to encourage research likely to lead toward new capabilities for human benefit. The award is to be given to a citizen of the United States, preferably no...
from the National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and... - 2007: Gruber Prize in CosmologyGruber Prize in CosmologyThe Gruber Prize in Cosmology is one of five international awards made by The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation, an American non-profit organization based in the U.S. Virgin Islands with offices in New York City...
(co-recipient with High-z Supernova Search TeamHigh-z Supernova Search TeamThe High-z Supernova Search Team was an international cosmology collaboration which used Type Ia Supernovae to chart the expansion of the Universe. The team was formed in 1994 by Brian P. Schmidt, then a post-doctoral research associate at Harvard University, and Nicholas B. Suntzeff, a staff...
) - 2011: Nobel Prize in PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
was awarded to Stubbs' colleagues Brian Schmidt and Adam Reiss, from the High-z Supernova Search TeamHigh-z Supernova Search TeamThe High-z Supernova Search Team was an international cosmology collaboration which used Type Ia Supernovae to chart the expansion of the Universe. The team was formed in 1994 by Brian P. Schmidt, then a post-doctoral research associate at Harvard University, and Nicholas B. Suntzeff, a staff...
for the work done by that collaboration.