Technique to measure the expanding Universe wins international astronomy prize

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue. Technique to measure the expanding Universe wins international astronomy prize A Durham University professor who helped discover a now commonly used technique to measure the expansion of the Universe has won a prestigious international award. Professor Shaun Cole, Deputy Director of Durham's Institute for Computational Cosmology , was today (Tuesday, May 28) awarded The Shaw Prize in Astronomy. The award, shared with two other scientists, was made in recognition of Professor Cole's work on the 2df Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) which conducted a study of 250,000 galaxies using the Anglo-Australian Telescope. Reporting their findings in 2005, Professor Cole and his colleagues showed that baryon acoustic oscillations - sound waves that originated a few seconds after the Big Bang - could be used to measure distances in the Universe and the rate at which it is expanding.