Prof. Brian P. Schmidt

2011 Nobel Laureate for Physics at the Australian National University’s Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics in Weston Creek/Australia

Prof. Schmidt discovered that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating, suggesting that an unknown force is countering the effect of gravity, pushing the Universe apart.

Biography:

Prof. Brian Schmidt is a Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the Australian National University. For his work on the accelerating universe, he – as leader of the High-Z SN Search team – was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Adam Riess and Saul Perlmutter. Professor Schmidt has worked across many areas of Astronomy including studying supernovae, gamma ray bursts, gravitational wave transients, exo-planets and metal poor stars. He completed joint undergraduate degrees in astronomy and physics at the University of Arizona and an astronomy master’s degree and PhD from Harvard University. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, he joined the staff of the Australian National University. He was awarded the Australian Government’s inaugural Malcolm McIntosh Award for Achievement in the Physical Sciences, was jointly awarded the Shaw Prize for Astronomy, and he shared the Gruber Prize for Cosmology and the Breakthrough Prize in Physics with his High-Z SN Search Team colleagues. He served as the 12th Vice Chancellor and President of the Australia National University from 2016-2023.

Topic of keynote speech:

• Science: Humanity’s universal bridge

Schedule:

Monday, January 19, 2026:

14:00 Public keynote speech and dialogue at the National Chung Hsing University in Taichung

Further information and free seat reservation via phone +886-4-22840205 #709 or email
chienyu709@nchu.edu.tw