Robert Wilson

The American astronomer Robert W. Wilson received the 1978 Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB). Dr. Wilson was at work on a new type of antenna for Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey, when he sought to identify a source of noise in the atmosphere that could not be otherwise explained. After eliminating all other potential sources, the noise was finally identified as CMB radiation, a lingering echo of the Big Bang, the cataclysmic explosion that created the known universe. Wilson, born in Houston, Texas, joined Bell labs after earning a physics degree at Rice University and a doctorate from Caltech. He was promoted to head pf Radio Physics Research at Bell, where he continued his work developing the techniques of radio spectroscopy to unprecedented levels of accuracy, studying the molecular composition of interstellar clouds and making significant contributions to the technology of satellite communications. In this address to the Academy of Achievement, recorded at the 1987 Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, he tells the students about his own career in physics and radioastronomy. He also outlines the evolution of cosmology since the 1920s, and discusses the development of the universe since the Big Bang.