Research
ALL
ASTROPHYSICAL EVENTS,
including the origin of the universe, are governed by the physics of nuclei
and particles. The
LBNL Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics (INPA) unites research
in astrophysics - including solar neutrinos, cosmic rays, dark matter,
supernovae, cosmic background radiation and theoretical astrophysics.
The Institute unites experimenters and theorists with common scientific
goals and shared techniques that transcend divisional boundaries. INPA
promotes interdisciplinary work in Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics at
LBNL by: 2
- Promoting interaction and communication among its members
- Sharing of intellectual, technical, and administrative resources
- Planning of new research proposals and development of major detector systems
- Developing innovative educational outreach programs
- Establishing seminars, postdoctoral, and visitor programs. Sponsoring workshops
Recent News
April 2015
Lab’s Perlmutter Featured in April 22 Hubble Telescope Documentary Twenty-five years ago, NASA launched one of the most ambitious experiments in the history of astronomy: the Hubble Space Telescope. In honor of Hubble's landmark anniversary, NOVA tells the remarkable story of the telescope that forever changed our understanding of the cosmos. The program airs at 9 p.m. on KQED. More>
Read the LBNL press release here.
October 2011
Saul Perlmutter, an astrophysicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor of physics at the University of California at Berkeley, has won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe through observations of distant supernovae.” Perlmutter heads the international Supernova Cosmology Project, which pioneered the methods used to discover the accelerating expansion of the universe, and he has been a leader in studies to determine the nature of dark energy.
Read the LBNL press release here.
July 2007
Saul Perlmutter and the members of the Supernova Cosmology Project share the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize with their competitors, Brian Schmidt and the High-Z Supernova Search Team, for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe. Read the LBNL press release here and read the Gruber Foundation Announcement here.
July 2007
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has chosen Homestake, a former gold mine in the Black Hills of South Dakota, as the site for a national multipurpose deep underground science and engineering laboratory, following a lengthy competition. The multi-institutional Homestake collaboration was spearheaded by Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley under the leadership of Kevin Lesko from the Nuclear Science Division and co-director of INPA. Go here for the full story.
March 2007
Jeanne Miller, INPA's administrator, has retired after thirty-three years of outstanding service at LBNL. At her retirement party on February 27, she received well-wishes from over 125 colleagues and friends spanning three decades. Karen Hope has also left INPA to return to Missouri. We wish her the best in all her new adventures.
October
2006
George Smoot has won the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physics, along with John C. Mather of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The citation reads "for their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation." Go here for the full story. See photos from the celebrations here.
October
2006
Stuart Freedman has been awarded the 2007 Tom W. Bonner Prize for Nuclear Physics. The citation reads: "For his contributions to Neutrino Physics and the study of the Weak Interactions in Nuclei, in particular for his leading role in the KAMLAND experiment, as well as for his work on precision measurements of the beta decay of the neutron."
August
2006
George Smoot is one of the 18 members of the Cosmic Background Explorer
(COBE) Science Working Group who have been awarded the Peter Gruber Foundation's
2006 Cosmology Prize. George was principal investigator of the differential
microwave radiometer (DMR) experiment aboard COBE, one of three experiments
aboard the spacecraft that not only confirmed that the universe was born
in a big bang but shed light on its subsequent structure. Go here to read more.
August
2006
SNAP receives NASA funding for mission concept studies: In preparation
for NASA and DOE's Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM), NASA has selected
SNAP as one of three proposals that it will support for advanced mission
concept studies. SNAP, which is led by Berkeley Lab's Saul Perlmutter
and Michael Levi, is a space-based experiment designed to learn the nature
of dark energy by precisely measuring the expansion history of the universe.
For more information see the press
release.
July
2006
Saul Perlmutter has been awarded the 2006 Antonio Feltrinelli International
Prize from the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome.The Antonio Feltrinelli
prizes for Physical and Mathematical Sciences are awarded every five years.
There is only one recipient of the international prize.
June
2006
Saul Perlmutter is a recipient of the 2006 Shaw Prize in Astronomy.
The award honors significant scientific breakthroughs that have had a
profound impact on mankind. Saul will share the $1 million prize with
Adam Reiss of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore and Brian
Schmidt of Australia for "discovering that the expansion rate of
the universe is accelerating, implying in the simplest interpretation
that energy density of space is non-vanishing even in the absence of any
matter and radiation." Go here for details. INPA celebrated with a party.
