Bruce Partridge: Biographical Sketch

Bruce Partridge is Professor of Astronomy at Haverford College. His role in national and international scientific societies has included strategic planning in physics and astronomy, and reform in American higher education, on which he has many publications. He served as Education Officer of the American Astronomical Society, an elective post charged with advising on educational policies and practices at all levels. He serves on several advisory committees to departments and programs at Caltech and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and as a referee for a number of physics and astronomy journals. His research activities involve the use of radio astronomy to answer questions about the origin and evolution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies. In particular he pioneered research in cosmic microwave background radiation. His related work includes preparation for the Planck Surveyor Satellite, scheduled to be launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2007 or 2008 to study the structure of the universe. The Planck mission is a true example of international collaboration and the U.S. Planck efforts are supported by NASA. He collaborated with Arizona State University and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory to make radio maps of the sky and the Hubble Field. He has received many awards and is a member of the American Astronomical Society (A.A.S.) and the International Astronomical Union (I.A.U.). He served on three previous NRC consensus study committees under the auspices of the Board on Physics and Astronomy. Dr. Partridge earned an A.B. in Physics from Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in Physics from Oxford University.