Prior to 2005, Bennett was a Senior Scientist for Experimental Cosmology, Goddard Senior Fellow, and Infrared Astrophysics Branch Head at theNASA Goddard Space Flight Center.[1]
Before leading WMAP,[when?] Bennett was the Deputy Principal Investigator for the Differential Microwave Radiometers (DMR) instrument on theCosmic Background Explorer (COBE) mission that discovered the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation. Bennett led the effort to rebuild the radiometer front-end microwave components that succeeded in significantly enhancing the sensitivity of the DMR instrument. TheCosmic Background Explorer (COBE) Science Team also precisely measured the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radiation.
HisNational Academy of Sciences (NAS) membership citation states, "As leader of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) mission, Bennett has helped quantify, with unprecedented precision and accuracy, many key properties of the universe, including its age, the dark and baryonic matter content, the cosmological constant, and the Hubble constant."[2] Membership is a great honor bestowed upon the most distinguished scholars in engineering and the sciences.[3]
He was awarded the National Academy of SciencesHenry Draper Medal in 2005[6] and theComstock Prize in Physics in 2009,[7] both for his leadership of WMAP. Bennett received theHarvey Prize in 2006 for, "the precise determination of the age, composition and curvature of the universe."[8] Bennett shared the 2010Shaw Prize in astronomy withLyman A. Page, Jr. andDavid N. Spergel, both of Princeton University, for their work on WMAP.[9]The 2012Gruber Cosmology Prize was awarded to "Charles L. Bennett and the WMAP Team" for"transforming our current paradigm ofstructure formation from appealing scenario into precise science." "By observing the relic radiation from the early universe, Charles L. Bennett and the WMAP team established theStandard Cosmological Model."[10]Bennett was named the 2013 Karl G. Jansky Prize Lecturer.[11]
In 2015 Bennett was awarded the Caterina Tomassoni and Felice Pietro Chisesi Prize "For Dr. Bennett's leadership in two experiments on the Cosmic Microwave Background that literally changed our view of the Universe: COBE-DMR, leading to the discovery of primordial spatial fluctuations in the CMB, and WMAP, leading to precise measurements of the cosmological parameters and establishing -de facto- the Standard Cosmological Model".[12] Bennett was named for the 2017Isaac Newton Medal and Prize: "Professor Charles L Bennett, the leader of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), has had a transformative effect in cosmology. WMAP has, through its incredibly precise measurements of temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), revolutionized our understanding of the universe. It transformed cosmology from an order-of-magnitude game to a precision experimental science."[13] TheAmerican Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAAS) awarded its 2021Rumford Prize to Dr. Bennett "For his contributions to the field of cosmology." AAAS President,David Oxtoby, said, “Professor Bennett’s spectacular work helped transform cosmology into an integral component in the quest for the fundamental laws of physics. His trailblazing work gives us an unprecedented, precise view of the universe, and more importantly, reminds us of the joys and possibilities of scientific discovery.”[14]
2005 Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences[15]
2006Gruber Cosmology Prize (awarded to John Mather and the COBE Team for "ground-breaking studies confirming that our universe was born in a hot Big Bang.")[16]
2012Gruber Cosmology Prize (awarded to Charles L. Bennett and the WMAP Team "for their exquisite measurements of anisotropies in the relic radiation from the Big Bang---the Cosmic Microwave Background." "So precise are these findings that WMAP’s version of the universe is now commonly known as the Standard Cosmological Model."
2013 Karl G. Jansky Prize Lecturer
2015 Caterina Tomassoni and Felice Pietro Chisesi Prize (Tomassoni awards)
2017Isaac Newton Medal and Prize: "Professor Charles L Bennett, the leader of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), has had a transformative effect in cosmology. WMAP has, through its incredibly precise measurements of temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), revolutionized our understanding of the universe. It transformed cosmology from an order-of-magnitude game to a precision experimental science."
Bennett has more than 91,000 citations inGoogle Scholar and an h-index of 80.[17]
Highly Cited Articles(more than 2000 citations)
2009 with E Komatsu, J Dunkley, MR Nolta, B Gold, G Hinshaw, N Jarosik, D Larson, M Limon, L Page, DN Spergel, M Halpern, RS Hill, A Kogut, SS Meyer, GS Tucker, JL Weiland, E Wollack, EL Wright,Five-year wilkinson microwave anistropy probe* observations: cosmological interpretation, inThe Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 180, nº 2; 330.
2003 with DN Spergel, L Verde, HV Peiris, E Komatsu, MR Nolta, M Halpern, G Hinshaw, N Jarosik, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, L Page, GS Tucker, JL Weiland, E Wollack, EL Wright,First-year Wilkinson Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)* observations: determination of cosmological parameters, inThe Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 148, nº 1; 175.
2007 with DN Spergel, R Bean, O Doré, MR Nolta, Joanna Dunkley, G Hinshaw, N ea Jarosik, E Komatsu, L Page, HV Peiris, L Verde, M Halpern, RS Hill, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, N Odegard, GS Tucker, JL Weiland, E Wollack, EL Wright,Three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observations: implications for cosmology, inThe Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 170, nº 2; 377.
2003 with M Bay, M Halpern, G Hinshaw, C Jackson, N Jarosik, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, L Page, DN Spergel, GS Tucker, DT Wilkinson, E Wollack, EL Wright,The Microwave Anisotropy Probe* Mission, inThe Astrophysical Journal. Vol. 583, nº 1; 1.
2013 with G Hinshaw, D Larson, E Komatsu, DN Spergel, Joanna Dunkley, MR Nolta, M Halpern, RS Hill, N Odegard, L Page, KM Smith, JL Weiland, B Gold, N Jarosik, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, GS Tucker, E Wollack, EL Wright,Nine-year Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observaitons: cosmological parameter results, inThe Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 208, nº 2; 19.
1992 with GF Smoot, A Kogut, EL Wright, J Aymon, NW Boggess, ES Cheng, G De Amici, S Gulkis, MG Hauser, G Hinshaw, PD Jackson, M Janssen, E Kaita, T Kelsall, P Keegstra, C Lineweaver, K Loewenstein, P Lubin, J Mather, SS Meyer, SH Moseley, T Murdock, L Rokke, RF Silverberg, L Tenorio, R Weiss, DT Wilkinson,Structure in the COBE differential microwave radiometer first-year maps, inThe Astrophysical Journal. Vol. 396; L1-L5.
2013 with D Larson, JL Weiland, N Jarosik, G Hinshaw, N Odegard, KM Smith, RS Hill, B Gold, M Halpern, E Komatsu, MR Nolta, L Page, David N Spergel, E Wollack, J Dunkley, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, GS Tucker, EL Wright,Nine-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observations: final maps and results, inThe Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 208, nº 2; 20.
2009 with G Hinshaw, JL Weiland, RS Hill, N Odegard, D Larson, J Dunkley, B Gold, MR Greason, N Jarosik, Eiichiro Komatsu, MR Nolta, L Page, DN Spergel, E Wollack, M Halpern, A Kogut, M Limon, SS Meyer, GS Tucker, EL Wrigh,Five-year wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe* observations: data processing, sky maps, and basic results, inThe Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Vol. 180, nº 2; 225.
