David Spergel

David Spergel is the President of the Simons Foundation. He was the Founding Director of the Center for Computational Astrophysics at the Flatiron Institute and spent 31 years as a member of the Princeton University faculty. At Princeton, he is now the Charles Young Professor Emeritus of Astronomy.

Using microwave background observations from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, Spergel has measured the age, shape and composition of the universe. These observations have played a significant role in establishing the standard model of cosmology. Spergel’s work has been recognized by the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the Shaw Prize, the Gruber Prize, the Heinemann Prize and the MacArthur Fellowship. He is a member of the National Academy of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Science.

Spergel has been a mentor for over 30 PhD students and over 40 postdoctoral fellows. He is an author of over 300 papers with over 100,000 citations.