David Nathaniel Spergel

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey ~Charles A. Young Professor of Astronomy; Professor of Astrophysical Sciences. Leader in connecting fundamental physics with astrophysical/cosmological observables. Contributed papers on a wide range of topics including planet finding, self-interacting dark matter, inflation, axion detection, neutrinos from supernovae, the structure of the galaxy, the signature of super horizon perturbations, tests of cosmic topology, and cosmic strings. His first paper as theorist, on the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (wmap), proclaimed a standard model of cosmology based on his foundational synthesis of multiple cosmological observations, the experimental details of wmap, and theoretical developments. Research has changed our understanding of the cosmos and prospects for future tests of fundamental physics. His 2003 and 2007 wmap papers are the most cited astronomy and physics papers since 2000.~