William H. Press
William H. Press | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Henry Press May 23, 1948 New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard University, (A.B.) California Institute of Technology, (Ph.D.) |
| Known for | Press–Schechter formalism Numerical Recipes |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | theoretical physics astrophysics computer science |
| Institutions | Harvard University Los Alamos National Laboratory University of Texas at Austin |
| Doctoral advisor | Kip Thorne |
| Doctoral students | Ethan Vishniac David Spergel Robert Brandenberger Adam Riess |
William Henry Press (born May 23, 1948) is an astrophysicist, theoretical physicist, computer scientist, and computational biologist. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Council on Foreign Relations. In 1989, he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society "in recognition of important theoretical contributions to relativistic astrophysics and to cosmology" Other honors include the 1981 Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy. Press has been a member of the JASON defense advisory group since 1977 and is a past chair.
From 2009 through 2016, Press served as vice-chair of President Obama's President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). In 2012–2013, he served as the 165th President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In July, 2016, he became the elected treasurer of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and a member of its council and governing board.