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Spouse of CSUEB anthropology chair wins Nobel Prize in Physics

Saul Perlmutter and Laura Nelson

Saul Perlmutter and Laura Nelson (By: Associated Press)

  • November 8, 2011 5:05am

Laura Nelson, chair of anthropology at Cal State East Bay, is the spouse of Saul Perlmutter, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in October 2011.

The couple learned of the news courtesy of a 2:45am phone call from a Swedish reporter asking how Perlmutter felt.  "How do I feel about what?" he remembered saying while Nelson looked online to confirm that it wasn’t a hoax.

Perlmutter led one of two teams that simultaneously discovered that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, causing physicists to posit the existence of a new force, previously unknown, which amounts to 70 percent of the universe's total energy. In recent years, Perlmutter has been working with NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to design the first space-based observatory designed specifically to understand the nature of dark energy. Read more about his research (PDF).

Nelson will join her husband at the Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm on December 10 when Perlmutter will receive the Nobel Prize Medal from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.  

Congratulations to Professors Perlmutter and Nelson!

KL

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