Comments:
After I left Redwood, I went to Stanford until '74 and majored in math, and then to Lick Observatory ( run by UC Santa Cruz), where I got my PhD in '80 in astronomy. My first job was as a postdoc at the Mt. Wilson and Palomar Observatories in Pasadena before moving to La Serena, Chile, to work as a research astronomer in '86. I lived in Chile for over 20 years, working at the US National Optical Observatory. I became the Director of Science for the US National Observatories in the US and Chile.
In '06, I moved to Texas A&M University to start an astronomy department in this public university of 80,000 students. To retain some sanity living here in East Texas, in 2010, I went on leave in Washington, D.C., working at the Department of State as a National Academy Senior Science Fellow in the Office of Human Rights, where I was a Humanitarian Affairs Officer. In 2012, I returned to my job at A&M but remained a consultant in the Human rights office until it was closed. I was elected a University Distinguished Professor in 2013 and a Regents Professor of the Texas A&M University System in 2016. I retired as emeritus in 2024.
My research is in cosmology. In 1994, my group discovered the first way to measure precise distances to the farthest galaxies, using exploding stars, which can be seen 90% of the way to the edge of the Universe. We were able to measure the most accurate value of the expansion of the Universe - the "Hubble constant." In 1998, another group I started discovered that the Universe is speeding up its expansion and not slowing down. Einstein predicted This effect in 1917 as part of his theories of relativity; he never really took it seriously but never discounted that it could exist. It is now called Dark Energy and makes up 73% of the Universe. We have no idea what physics is causing it, and it remains the biggest mystery in the physical sciences. Strangely, we can only see 0.5% of the Universe, and the rest is darkness.
On October 4, 2011, two of my collaborators from the group I began in 1993, Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for our discovery of the acceleration of the Universe.
I have one daughter, Larissa, who graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She majored in International Relations and Spanish. She married a Texan man, Patrick McMahon of Mason, Texas, who grew up on a West Texas Ranch. He has a master's degree in agricultural economics and entomology.
As of March 2024, I have become emeritus and retired. While I miss California and Marin, my family is all here in College Station, so here I stay. I now have cowboy boots for formal events (the boots are surprisingly comfortable). I have an urban cowboy hat like LJB wore, which is a retirement party gift, but I am too shy to wear it. You know the phrase in Texas: "All hat, no cow."
