Brian Schmidt

Brian Schmidt
Schmidt at the 2012 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
Brian Schmidt
Born	Brian Paul Schmidt 24 2, 1967
Birthplace	Missoula, Montana, United States
Nationality	American, Australian
Occupation	Astrophysicist, academic administrator
Title	12th Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University
Known for	Discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe; using supernovae as cosmological probes
Education	Ph.D., Harvard University
Awards	Nobel Prize in Physics (2011), Shaw Prize in Astronomy (2006), Fellow of the Royal Society (2012)

Brian Paul Schmidt (born 24 February 1967) is an American-born Australian astrophysicist whose work on the accelerating expansion of the universe helped reshape the modern understanding of cosmology. Based for most of his career at the Australian National University's (ANU) Mount Stromlo Observatory and Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Schmidt led the High-z Supernova Search Team, one of two groups that independently discovered in the late 1990s that the expansion of the universe is accelerating — a finding that implied the existence of a mysterious force known as dark energy. For this work, he shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics with Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess, and the 2006 Shaw Prize in Astronomy. Beyond his research, Schmidt served as the 12th Vice-Chancellor of ANU from January 2016 to December 2023, guiding the institution through a period of significant change. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2012 and has held both a Federation Fellowship and a Laureate Fellowship from the Australian Research Council. As of 2025, Schmidt continues to be active in the astronomy community, having been elected to the board of directors of the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Early Life

Brian Paul Schmidt was born on 24 February 1967 in Missoula, Montana, in the United States. He grew up in the western United States, where his early interest in science and the natural world took shape. Schmidt has spoken in interviews about the influence of the wide Montana skies on his curiosity about the cosmos.

Schmidt's family background and upbringing in the American West contributed to a practical, hands-on approach that would later characterise both his scientific work and his personal interests, including winemaking. In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Schmidt discussed elements of his early life and the path that led him toward physics and astronomy.

He would later obtain dual American and Australian citizenship, having moved to Australia to pursue his academic career at ANU's Mount Stromlo Observatory. This relocation to the Southern Hemisphere proved pivotal, as it placed Schmidt at one of the premier astronomical research facilities in the world and positioned him to lead international collaborations that would produce groundbreaking cosmological discoveries.

Education

Schmidt pursued his undergraduate education in the United States before attending Harvard University for his doctoral studies. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard, where he received training in astrophysics that laid the groundwork for his subsequent research on supernovae and cosmology. At Harvard, Schmidt developed expertise in observational astronomy and the use of Type Ia supernovae as standard candles for measuring cosmic distances — a technique that would become central to his Nobel Prize-winning research.

Harvard later celebrated Schmidt's achievements, noting him as one of two Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni to receive the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, the other being Adam Riess. Schmidt's doctoral training provided him with the technical skills and theoretical foundations necessary to design and lead the High-z Supernova Search Team, which he established shortly after completing his graduate studies and relocating to Australia.

Career

Early Academic Career and Mount Stromlo Observatory

After completing his Ph.D. at Harvard, Schmidt joined the staff of the Australian National University, where he was based at the Mount Stromlo Observatory and the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Mount Stromlo, located near Canberra, had a long history as one of Australia's foremost astronomical research institutions, and it provided Schmidt with access to observational resources and an international network of collaborators.

At ANU, Schmidt built a research programme focused on using supernovae — the explosive deaths of stars — as tools for measuring the expansion history of the universe. Type Ia supernovae are of particular interest to cosmologists because they exhibit a consistent relationship between their peak luminosity and the rate at which their brightness declines, making them useful as "standard candles" for gauging cosmic distances. By measuring the apparent brightness and redshift of distant Type Ia supernovae, astronomers can determine how the rate of the universe's expansion has changed over billions of years.

Schmidt's curriculum vitae records an extensive publication record and numerous grants and fellowships obtained during his time at ANU, including a Federation Fellowship and a Laureate Fellowship from the Australian Research Council.

The High-z Supernova Search Team and the Accelerating Universe

In the mid-1990s, Schmidt founded and led the High-z Supernova Search Team, an international collaboration of astronomers dedicated to measuring the deceleration of the universe's expansion using distant Type Ia supernovae. The expectation among most cosmologists at the time was that the gravitational attraction of matter in the universe would be gradually slowing the rate of expansion following the Big Bang. Schmidt's team set out to quantify this deceleration.

The results, published in 1998, were startling. Rather than decelerating, the expansion of the universe appeared to be accelerating. The distant supernovae observed by Schmidt's team were dimmer than expected, indicating that they were farther away than models predicted — consistent with a universe whose expansion rate was increasing over time. An independent team, the Supernova Cosmology Project led by Saul Perlmutter at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, reached the same conclusion through a parallel programme of supernova observations.

The discovery implied the existence of a previously unknown form of energy — subsequently termed dark energy — that permeates space and drives the accelerating expansion. Dark energy is now estimated to constitute approximately 68 percent of the total energy content of the universe, making it the dominant component of the cosmos. The discovery was described by the Nobel Committee as having "shaken the very foundation of cosmology" and prompted a fundamental re-evaluation of the standard cosmological model.

In an interview with Space.com, Schmidt discussed the significance of the finding and the initial scepticism it faced from the scientific community. He noted that the result was so unexpected that even members of his own team were reluctant to accept it at first, and that extensive checks were conducted to rule out systematic errors before the findings were published.

The BBC reported on the significance of the discovery, noting that the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics recognised one of the most profound discoveries in modern physics. The finding has since been confirmed by multiple independent lines of evidence, including observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation and large-scale galaxy surveys.

Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University

On 1 January 2016, Schmidt assumed the role of Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University, succeeding Ian Young in the position. As the 12th Vice-Chancellor of ANU, Schmidt served as the university's chief executive officer and academic leader. During his tenure, the university navigated significant challenges including changes to Australian higher education funding, shifts in international student enrolment, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university operations.

Schmidt served under the chancellorships of Gareth Evans and later Julie Bishop. His term as Vice-Chancellor concluded on 31 December 2023, and he was succeeded by Genevieve Bell, a distinguished technologist and anthropologist.

During his time as Vice-Chancellor, Schmidt continued to advocate for science and research funding in Australia and internationally. He used his platform as a Nobel laureate to speak on issues related to climate change, the importance of evidence-based policymaking, and the role of universities in society.

Post-Vice-Chancellorship and Ongoing Activities

Following the conclusion of his term as Vice-Chancellor at ANU, Schmidt has remained active in the scientific and academic communities. In November 2025, he was elected to the board of directors of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), one of the next generation of extremely large telescopes being constructed in Chile. The GMT project involves a consortium of international institutions and aims to provide unprecedented observational capabilities for studying the early universe, exoplanets, and dark energy — the very phenomenon that Schmidt helped discover.

In April 2025, Schmidt was appointed to the board of directors of Liquid Instruments, a company specialising in reconfigurable test and measurement technology. The company described his appointment alongside co-founder Danielle Wuchenich as part of its efforts to strengthen its leadership team.

Schmidt has also continued to engage in public science communication. In October 2025, he delivered a lecture at the University of Arizona as part of its Distinguished Research Lecture Series, presenting on the nature of the universe and the discoveries that have shaped contemporary cosmology. In October 2025, he also visited Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he was received by Tsinghua President Qiu Yong, reflecting his ongoing role in international academic diplomacy.

Personal Life

Schmidt holds dual American and Australian citizenship, having settled in Australia after joining the Australian National University. He has been based in the Canberra region for most of his professional career.

Outside of his academic and scientific work, Schmidt is known for his interest in winemaking. He operates a vineyard and winery in the Canberra district, a pursuit that has attracted media attention. The Canberra Times profiled Schmidt's winemaking activities, describing him as a "restless experimenter" who applies scientific rigour to his approach to viticulture and oenology. His winemaking has been documented as a serious hobby that complements his scientific career rather than detracting from it.

Schmidt has given oral history interviews that have been archived by the National Library of Australia, providing a record of his personal and professional life for future researchers.

Recognition

Schmidt's contributions to astrophysics and cosmology have been recognised with numerous awards and honours from institutions around the world.

His most prominent recognition came in 2011, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with Saul Perlmutter (who received half the prize) and Adam Riess (who shared the other half with Schmidt). The Nobel Foundation cited all three scientists "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae." Schmidt was the second person based at an Australian institution to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics, and the award brought significant attention to Australian astronomy.

Prior to the Nobel Prize, Schmidt shared the 2006 Shaw Prize in Astronomy with Perlmutter and Riess. The Shaw Prize, often described as the "Nobel of the East," recognised the same body of work on the accelerating universe.

In 2012, Schmidt was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), one of the oldest and most prestigious scientific societies in the world. The Royal Society recognised his contributions to observational cosmology and astrophysics.

Schmidt has been elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, which has featured his work prominently in its publications and events.

He was also featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Catalyst science programme, where his research and its implications were explained for a general audience. In 2014, he participated in the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF), where he was interviewed by National Geographic on topics including quantum correlations, women in STEM, and the search for extraterrestrial life.

The University of Sydney has also highlighted Schmidt's achievements, noting his significance to Australian science.

Legacy

The discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe, to which Schmidt made a central contribution, is considered one of the most significant scientific findings of the twentieth century. It fundamentally altered the prevailing cosmological model and introduced the concept of dark energy as a major component of the universe's energy budget. The finding opened entirely new avenues of research in theoretical physics, observational cosmology, and fundamental physics, as scientists continue to seek an explanation for the nature and origin of dark energy.

Schmidt's role as leader of the High-z Supernova Search Team placed him at the centre of a competitive but ultimately complementary scientific effort, as both his team and the Supernova Cosmology Project arrived at the same conclusion independently — lending considerable strength to the result. The convergence of evidence from two separate teams, using different methodologies and data analysis pipelines, provided the scientific community with a high degree of confidence in the discovery.

Beyond his research contributions, Schmidt's tenure as Vice-Chancellor of ANU demonstrated an unusual career trajectory in which a Nobel laureate transitioned from active research leadership to university administration, bringing scientific credibility and international visibility to the role. His advocacy for research funding, evidence-based policy, and international scientific collaboration has extended his influence beyond the laboratory.

Schmidt's continued engagement with next-generation astronomical projects, including his role on the Giant Magellan Telescope board, ensures his ongoing involvement in the future of observational astronomy. His public lectures, board appointments, and international academic visits reflect a sustained commitment to scientific advancement and education that extends well beyond his prize-winning discovery.

His oral history, preserved by the National Library of Australia, provides a lasting record of his contributions to science and Australian intellectual life.