Tao (left) and Ghez
Renowned UCLA scientists Andrea Ghez, a professor of physics and astronomy, and Terence Tao, a professor of mathematics, have been elected to the American Philosophical Society , the country's oldest learned society, which recognizes extraordinary achievements in science, letters and the arts. Founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin, the society's members have included George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Louis Pasteur, Linus Pauling and Margaret Mead. Next week, Ghez and Tao will be in Lund, Sweden, for another honor: Each will receive the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' prestigious Crafoord Prize in the presence of the king and queen of Sweden. The prize recognizes extraordinary achievements in mathematics, astronomy and other fields. Joseph Rudnick, dean of the UCLA Division of Physical Sciences, has called Ghez and Tao "two of UCLA's true superstars — indeed, two of the world's intellectual superstars." Since 1995, Ghez has used the W.M. Keck Observatory, which sits atop Hawaii's dormant Mauna Kea volcano and houses the two largest telescopes in the world, to study the rotational center of the Milky Way and the movement of hundreds of stars close to this galactic center. She holds UCLA's Lauren B. Leichtman and Arthur E. Levine Chair in Astrophysics. Tao, who holds the James and Carol Collins Chair in the UCLA College of Letters and Science, has said that we are living in a "golden age for mathematics" and that mathematics has become much more collaborative and interdisciplinary than in the past.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
