Biographies

Dr. Joel R. Primack
Professor of Physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz

Joel R. Primack, Professor of Physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, specializes in the formation and evolution of galaxies and the nature of the dark matter that makes up most of the matter in the universe. Primack received his A.B. in Physics from Princeton in 1966 and his Ph.D. in Physics from Stanford in 1970. He was a Junior Fellow of the Harvard University Society of Fellows in 1970-73, before joining the UCSC faculty. After helping develop what is now called the Standard Model of particle physics, Primack began working in cosmology in the late 1970s. He is one of the principal originators and developers of the theory of Cold Dark Matter, which has become the foundation of the standard picture of structure formation in the universe. With support from NASA, NSF, and DOE, he is currently using supercomputers to simulate the evolution of the universe under various assumptions, and comparing the predictions of these theories to the latest observational data. Primack was named a Fellow of the APS in 1988 “for pioneering contributions to gauge theory and cosmology.” He received an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Senior Award in 1999-2004.

Primack has also worked in science and technology policy throughout his career. He shared the APS Forum on Physics and Society Award in 1977 with Frank von Hippel of Princeton for their book Advice and Dissent: Scientists in the Political Arena. In 1995 Primack was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), “for pioneering efforts in the establishment of the AAAS Congressional Science Fellows Program and for dedication to expanding the use of science in policymaking throughout government.” He has served on the board of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and was a founder of the Union of Concerned Scientists. In 1987-89 he led the FAS Space Nuclear Power Arms Control project, which helped to end the USSR’s space nuclear reactor program. He served on the AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility 1976-81, and organized and chaired the AAAS Clearinghouse on Science and Human Rights 1978-81. He also served as chairman of the advisory committee for the AAAS Program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion 2000-2002. ; He was a member of the APS Panel on Public Affairs (POPA) 2002-2004, and in 2004 he chaired a committee which prepared an APS report on NASA funding for astronomy. In 2005-06 he chaired the APS Forum on Physics and Society. He has served on numerous advisory panels to DOE, NASA, and NSF. In 2006-07 he served on the Beyond Einstein Program Assessment Committee of the National Academy of Sciences.

Primack has also been active in public outreach, including many popular lectures on physics and cosmology such as the Lansdowne Lecture at the University of Victoria (2004), the Sackler Lecture at Berkeley (2006, with Nancy Abrams), and the Oppenheimer Memorial Lecture at Los Alamos (2007). With Nancy Ellen Abrams, Primack wrote a popular book, The View from the Center of the Universe: Discovering Our Extraordinary Place in the Cosmos (2006), which will soon be published in many foreign editions.