Peter Nugent

Education

• Ph.D., Physics (Concentration in Astronomy), University of Oklahoma, 1997
  • Thesis title: Non-LTE Spectrum Synthesis of Type Ia Supernovae
  • Thesis advisor: Ed Baron

• M.S., Physics, University of Oklahoma, 1993
• B.A. (Magna Cum Laude), Physics (High Honors), Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me., 1990

Current Appointment

• Department Head for Computational Science, Computational Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2017-present
• Division Deputy for Scientific Engagement, Computational Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2014-present
• Senior Fellow Berkeley Institute for Data Science, University of California, Berkeley, 2014-present
• Senior Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2010-present
• Adjunct Professor of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, 2010-present

Current Research Interests

• Large-scale imaging and spectroscopic surveys.
• N-body + Hydro Large Scale Structure Simulations of the Lyman-Alpha Forest.
• Supernova and Gamma-Ray Burst Physics. Understanding how and why they explode and what they leave behind.
• Supernova Cosmology: measuring the cosmological parameters using all types of supernovae as a distance probes.
  
  

Previous Appointmenets

• Group Leader, Computational Cosmology Center, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2008-2014
• Group Leader, Data Analytics Group, National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, 2010-2014
• Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2000-2010
• Postdoctoral Fellow Physicist with the Supernova Cosmology Project, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1996-2000
• Research Assistant, University of Oklahoma, 1995-1996

Professional Activities and Society Membership

• Space Telescope User's Committee, 2002-2005
• UC Screening Committee for the next Director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2004
• PI of SNAP's Core Collapse Working Group, 2000-Present
• American Astronomical Society, 1991-Present
• Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 1999-Present
• Referee for ApJ, ApJL, PASP, PRL, MNRAS, AJ, and Science

Honors and Awards

• Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, 2015
• LBL's Director Award for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, 2013
• NERSC Award for Innovative Use of High Performance Computing, 2013
• SuperComputing '09 Storage Challenge Award, 2009
• Gruber Cosmology Prize, 2007
• Department of Energy's Big Splash Computational Award, 2002-2003
• Nielsen Award from the Physics Department, University of Oklahoma, 1997
• GAANN Fellowship from the U.S. Dept. of Education, University of Oklahoma, 1990-1995
• Noel C. Little Prize from the Physics Department, Bowdoin College, 1990
• Edwin H. Hall Physics Prize, Bowdoin College, 1988
• James Bowdoin Scholar, Bowdoin College, 1986-1990

Selected First-Author Publications