MIT Astrophysicist Receives GSB's Schola Mundus Est Award

It is with great pleasure that Gill St. Bernard’s School introduces the 2007 Schola Mundus Est Award recipient.  Our distinguished honoree attended St. Bernard’s School in the 1940s. After leaving SBS, he received a BA in music from Princeton University in 1952 and later went on as a graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology earning a Ph.D from MIT in Physics in 1961.  He began his teaching career at MIT that same year, and now, over 45 years later remains Professor Emeritus of Physics there. During his distinguished teaching and research career he has worked with both students and associates in various projects – including noteworthy studies as principal investigator of the All-Sky-Monitor instrument on the Rossi X-Ray Time Explorer (RXTE) in 1995, and studies of Black Holes and Neutron Stars including that of the unusual neutron-star binary Cir X-1, of gamma-ray bursts, and of the behavior of transient X-ray sources.   

            He has been recognized by his school as well as nationally for his work as well.  He was awarded the Buechner Teaching Prize in Physics at MIT in 1990.  He served as Secretary/Treasurer and Chairman of the High Energy Astrophysics Division (HEAD) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in the 1970’s, and more recently, in 1999, was co-recipient of the Rossi Prize by this national organization.  The Rossi Prize is an honor given annually for significant contribution to HEAD/AAS, with a particular emphasis on recent, original work.

Though now retired from teaching, he is still very much involved with the education process, particularly in the area of writing and publishing Physics textbooks.  In 2004 his book Astronomy Methods was published by Cambridge University Press.  Physics Today was quoted as saying: “[This textbook is] a brilliant addition to the pedagogy. It is timely, focused, well written, and at the appropriate level ... Astronomy Methods will be useful to all students of astronomy and astrophysics, irrespective of whether they intend to specialize in observational astronomy. The material can be adapted easily for various related courses, which makes the book even more valuable.”

Our honoree never forgot his St. Bernard’s School roots.  Throughout his career he continued his involvement with Gill St. Bernard’s School on a number of levels. He has returned to GSB on a number of occasions for career days and guest lecture appearances, he has been a consistent alumni donor and supporter of events and other graduates of the school. We are proud to honor one of our most distinguished alumni for his outstanding academic career and pioneering research.  The World has truly been his classroom and he has brought it to thousands of the brightest students during his lifetime.

For more information on the Schola Mundus Est Award please click here!