Brian Schmidt
An astrophysicist whose team's discovery of the accelerating universe upended cosmology and earned him a Nobel Prize.
Born 1967 (age 59)·American-born Australian astrophysicist and Nobel Laureate·Birthday: February 24·Generation X
Biography
Brian Schmidt, a Montana native who found his intellectual home in Australia, led one of the two teams that in 1998 delivered a shock to the foundations of physics. By meticulously observing distant supernovae, his High-Z Supernova Search Team expected to measure how much the universe's expansion was slowing down due to gravity. The data told the opposite story: the expansion was speeding up. This discovery of an accelerating universe, driven by a mysterious force dubbed 'dark energy,' overturned decades of accepted theory and won him the Nobel Prize in Physics. A pragmatic and energetic figure, Schmidt later served as Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University, championing scientific research while still finding time to tend his award-winning vineyard. He embodies the modern scientist: a collaborative explorer who is comfortable with paradigm-shattering results.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Brian was born in 1967, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Brian Was Born
The biggest hits of 1967
#1 Movie
The Jungle Book
Best Picture
In the Heat of the Night
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Brian's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1967Born
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1972Started school
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1980Became a teenager
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Could drive
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1985Could vote
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Turned 21
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1997Turned 30
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 40
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 50
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 59 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe through observations of distant supernovae.
- Served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University from 2016 to 2024, leading one of the world's top research institutions.
- Awarded the Shaw Prize in Astronomy in 2006 for his pioneering work in supernova cosmology.
- Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2012 in recognition of his profound contributions to science.
Did You Know?
He is a dedicated viticulturist and co-owns a vineyard in Canberra that produces award-winning pinot noir.
He holds dual citizenship in the United States and Australia.
His Nobel Prize-winning work was conducted while he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
““The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.””
