David Saltzberg
{{Short description|American physicist and television script consultant}}
{{distinguish|text=David Salzberg, who directed the film The Hornet's Nest}}
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| name = David Saltzberg
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| birth_name = David Paul Saltzberg
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| fields = Particle physics
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| education = Princeton University (B.S.)
University of Chicago (Ph.D.)
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| thesis_title = Measurement of the W Boson Mass
| thesis_url = https://doi.org/10.2172/1372384
| thesis_year = 1994
| doctoral_advisor = Henry Frisch
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| known_for = Experimental particle physics
Scientific consultancy
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| website = {{url|http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~saltzberg/}}
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David Paul Saltzberg is an experimental particle physicist and a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who is known for his science consultancy work on various television shows and films, such as The Big Bang Theory,{{cite news |last=Simon |first=Scott |date=January 31, 2009 |title=Sitcoms Consult Scientists For Accuracy |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100103094 |accessdate=14 February 2010 |work=Weekend Edition |publisher=National Public Radio}} Manhattan and Oppenheimer. His research involves high-energy collider physics and the radio detection of cosmic neutrinos, and in 2018, he was inducted as a fellow of the American Physical Society.{{Cite web |title=APS Fellow Archive |url=https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=&year=2018&unit_id=DPF&institution=University+of+California%2C+Los+Angeles |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=www.aps.org |language=en}}
Early life and career
Saltzberg earned a bachelor's degree in physics in 1989 from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago in 1994. From 1995 to 1997, he worked at CERN in Switzerland.
Saltzberg served as the chair of the UCLA physics and astronomy department from 2018 to 2022.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-03 |title=Department chairs – UCLA Physical Sciences |url=https://www.physicalsciences.ucla.edu/department-chairs/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703165322/https://www.physicalsciences.ucla.edu/department-chairs/ |archive-date=2022-07-03 |access-date=2024-01-20}}
Scientific consultancy
Saltzberg was a technical director for the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory. In addition to reviewing and correcting scripts with technical errors, Saltzberg added complex formulas to whiteboards on set.{{cite news|url=http://bazonline.ch/kultur/dossier/seriensuechtig/The-Big-Bang-Theory/story/10565073|title=The Big Bang Theory|last=Büttner|first=Jean-Martin |date=9 February 2010|publisher=Basler Zeitung|accessdate=14 February 2010}}{{cite news |last=Booth |first=John |date=12 February 2010 |title=The Evolution of "The Big Bang Theory" |url=http://archive.wired.com/geekdad/2010/02/getting-geekier-the-evolution-of-the-big-bang-theory/ |accessdate=14 February 2010 |publisher=Wired}} He also arranged for established scientists to visit the set of The Big Bang Theory through his "Geek of the Week" program.{{Cite web |last=Hewitt |first=Alison |date=2014-03-21 |title=Making a 'Big Bang' on TV: 10 questions with David Saltzberg |url=https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/making-a-big-bang-on-tv-10-questions-83027 |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=UCLA |language=en-US}} Saltzberg also served as a science consultant on the WGN America series Manhattan,{{cite web|url=http://www.techtimes.com/articles/74658/20150806/interview-alex-wellerstein-and-david-saltzberg-discuss-getting-history-and-science-right-on-manhattan.htm |title=Interview: Alex Wellerstein And David Saltzberg Discuss Getting History And Science Right On 'Manhattan'|publisher=Tech Times|accessdate=January 1, 2015|date=August 6, 2015}} and the 2023 film Oppenheimer.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Jeremy |date=2023-08-20 |title=Oppenheimer And The Big Bang Theory Share A Small But Significant Connection |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1365179/oppenheimer-the-big-bang-theory-connection/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=/Film |language=en-US}}
At the end of The Big Bang Theory's sequel, Young Sheldon, Saltzberg made a guest appearance as a physics professor.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-17 |title=Young Sheldon producer reveals Big Bang Theory Easter egg hidden in finale |url=https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/young-sheldon-finale-david-saltzberg-big-bang-theory-easter-egg-2727627/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Dexerto |language=en}}
Honors and awards
Saltzberg received a Sloan Fellowship, NSF Career Award, and Department of Energy Outstanding Junior Investigator Award while an assistant professor.{{cite web |title=Bio |url=http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~saltzbrg/bio.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415031848/http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~saltzbrg/bio.html |archivedate=15 April 2010 |accessdate=14 February 2010 |publisher=University of California, Los Angeles}}
In 2015, the asteroid 8628 Davidsaltzberg was named after him.
In 2018, Saltzberg was inducted as a fellow of the American Physical Society for "multiple contributions to hadron collider physics research; and for searches for PeV-ZeV astrophysical neutrinos, including accelerator experiments to establish the existence and viability of the Askaryan effect for this purpose".
In 2023, Saltzberg, together with Peter Gorham, a professor from the University of Hawaii, was awarded the Division of Particles & Fields (DPF) Instrumentation Award from the American Physical Society.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-04 |title=Professor David Saltzberg Wins American Physical Society's Instrumentation Award |url=https://physicalsciences.ucla.edu/professor-david-saltzberg-wins-american-physical-societys-instrumentation-award/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=UCLA Division of Physical Sciences |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-10-10 |title=Antarctica research earns professor international award |url=https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2023/10/10/peter-gorham-instrumentation-award/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=University of Hawaiʻi News |language=en-US}} The award was given for their work on methodologies used to detect high-energy particle cascades based on the Askaryan effect, which was subsequently used in the search for petaelectronvolt (PeV) and exaelectronvolt (EeV) astrophysical neutrinos.{{Cite web |title=Prizes & Awards - Unit - DPF |url=https://engage.aps.org/dpf/honors/prizes-awards/instrumentation-award |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=engage.aps.org}}
References
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External links
- [http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~saltzberg/ Profile at UCLA Physics & Astronomy department]
- [http://thebigblogtheory.wordpress.com/ Saltzberg's blog discussing science behind each Big Bang Theory episode]
- {{IMDb name|2934564}}
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century American physicists
Category:Princeton University alumni
Category:University of Chicago alumni
Category:University of California, Los Angeles faculty
Category:People associated with CERN