Adam G. Riess

Adam Guy Riess was born on December 16, 1969, in Washington, D.C., United States. He would grow up to become a renowned astrophysicist and one of the key figures in the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe, which led to the proposition of dark energy as a major component of the cosmos.

Adam Riess played a pivotal role in the High-Z Supernova Search Team beginning in 1996. This was an international cosmology collaboration that used observations of Type Ia supernovae to ascertain the expansion rate of the universe. Riess's leadership and analyses led to the groundbreaking discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe.

In 1998, Adam Riess and his colleagues in the High-Z Supernova Search Team discovered that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. This was a monumental discovery suggesting the existence of dark energy, a previously unknown form of energy that permeates all of space and accelerates the expansion of the universe. Riess's work on this study firmly established him as a leading scientist in cosmology.

In 2004, Adam Riess was awarded the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize for his contributions to the discovery of the cosmic acceleration and dark energy through his work on supernovae as distance indicators. This prize recognizes outstanding achievements in the fields of physics and astronomy by young scientists. Riess's role in elucidating the nature of the universe's expansion sealed his reputation in astrophysics.

Adam Riess, along with Saul Perlmutter and Brian P. Schmidt, was awarded the Shaw Prize in Astronomy in 2006. This prestigious award was given for their discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe. Their work provided the first evidence that a mysterious and unseen dark energy constitutes about 70% of the universe, fundamentally changing our understanding of cosmological principles.

Adam Riess was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics on October 4, 2011, sharing it with Saul Perlmutter and Brian P. Schmidt. The prize was given for the discovery that the universe's expansion is accelerating due to dark energy. This discovery was made using observations of distant supernovae. Riess's contribution to this landmark finding has had profound implications for cosmology and astrophysics.

In 2016, Adam Riess led a study that measured the rate of expansion of the universe with unprecedented precision. This study, utilizing the Hubble Space Telescope, refined the Hubble Constant to a value of 73.2 kilometers per second per megaparsec, revealing a discrepancy with measurements from the early universe's expansion. This ongoing tension in cosmological measurements continues to intrigue scientists worldwide.

Adam Riess received the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2018, an award recognizing significant contributions in the field of fundamental physics. Riess's work on the accelerated expansion of the universe and the precise measurement of the Hubble Constant has provided deep insights into dark energy and the universe's behavior. This award further acknowledges his impact and leadership in the scientific community.

In 2019, Adam Riess and his research team published findings that strengthened the case for a significant discrepancy in the universe's expansion rate, measured from observations of nearby galaxies and the cosmic microwave background. This ongoing research effort has profound implications for our understanding of cosmic phenomena and fundamental physics, potentially indicating new physics beyond the standard cosmological model.

Adam Riess, as a leading scientist working on the Hubble Space Telescope data, contributed to a 2021 study addressing unresolved discrepancies in measurements of the Hubble Constant. This constant, key to understanding the universe's expansion rate, showed differing values when calculated from nearby galaxies and early cosmic observations. Riess's work continues to challenge and refine existing cosmological theories, suggesting new physics might be at play.