James Peebles pauses while talking to a reporter at his home in Princeton, N.J., after being awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Physics, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019. Peebles, of Princeton University, shares the prize with Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for their work in understanding how the universe has evolved from the Big Bang and the blockbuster discovery of the first known planet outside our solar system. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
October 08, 2019 - 6:35 AM
WINNIPEG - A look at James Peebles, the Canadian-born physicist who shares this year's Nobel Prize in Physics.
Age: 84
Early years: Born in the Winnipeg neighbourhood of St. Boniface, Peebles moved to the United States to pursue a graduate degree after studying in Manitoba.
Education: BSc from the University of Manitoba in 1958, PhD from Princeton in 1962
Area of research: A physical cosmologist who says he's most interested in "underappreciated issues." His work examining cosmic microwave background radiation — a leftover from the Big Bang — has helped define the way we understand the universe and the ways galaxies are formed.
Accolades: Honourary doctorates from a string of universities around the world, including several in Canada. Peebles is also a fellow of both the Royal Society of Canada and the Order of Manitoba and won the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
Family: Married to Alison Peebles in 1958. They have three children and six grandchildren.
Quote: "You should enter science because you are fascinated by it. That's what I did."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2019.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019