Arno Allan Penzias

Arno Allan Penzias
Penzias in 1982
Born(1933-04-26)April 26, 1933
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
DiedJanuary 22, 2024(2024-01-22) (aged 90)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Citizenship
Education
Known forCosmic microwave background radiation
Spouse
Sherry Levit
(m. 1996)
Children5
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
Institutions
ThesisA tunable maser radiometer and the measurement of 21 cm line emission from free hydrogen in the Pegasus I cluster of galaxies (1962)
Doctoral advisorCharles H. Townes
Doctoral studentsPierre Encrenaz

Arno Allan Penzias (/ˈpɛnziəs/; April 26, 1933 – January 22, 2024) was an American physicist and radio astronomer. Along with Robert Woodrow Wilson, he discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978.