Princeton Weekly Bulletin January 11, 1999
Bahcall wins National Medal of Science
John Bahcall, visiting lecturer with rank of professor, was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Clinton on December 8.
One of nine winners this year, Bahcall was cited for pioneering efforts in neutrino astrophysics and for his contributions to the planning of the Hubble Space Telescope.
"The medal recognizes the work of many hundreds of people who have contributed to creating the field of solar neutrinos," said Bahcall, "and many thousands of scientists and engineers and managers and public servants who made the Hubble Space Telescope possible, ([the late Prince-ton professor] Lyman Spitzer first among them). I'm honored and delighted to represent all of these people."
Party in Washington
Bahcall has been Richard Black Professor of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study since 1997. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, he earned his MA at the University of Chicago and his PhD at Harvard University in 1961. After eight years as a research fellow and faculty member at California Institute of Technology, he joined the institute in 1969. He became a professor there in 1971, the same year he was appointed visiting lecturer at Princeton, where his wife Neta is professor of astrophysical sciences.
"When I called our daughter Orli to tell her the news about the National Medal," Bahcall said, "she exclaimed, 'Wonderful! Now we can have another party in Washington.' She was referring to the celebration she and our two sons had when Neta was inducted into the National Academy last April. Our children seem to regard these activities as occasions that Neta and I arrange so all the siblings can get together and enjoy themselves.''
362 winners since 1959
Bahcall is the winner of many honors and awards, including the 1992 NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the American Institute of Physics' 1994 Dannie Heineman Prize and the American Physical Society's 1998 Hans Bethe Prize. Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1976, he was president of the American Astronomical Society from 1990 to 1992.
Among his many publications are technical and popular articles on solar neutrinos, the Hubble Space Telescope, quasars and establishing priorities in science. His most recent book is Unsolved Problems in Astrophysics (1997), coedited with Provost Jeremiah Ostriker, professor of astrophysics.
Established by Congress in 1959, the National Medal of Science has been awarded to 362 people.