Cosmologists from the California Institute of Technology and their international collaborators have discovered the presence of acoustic "notes" in the sound waves that rippled through the early universe.

The existence of these harmonic peaks, discovered in an analysis of images from the BOOMERANG experiment, further strengthens results last year showing that the universe is flat. Also, the new results bolster the theory of "inflation," which states that the universe grew from a tiny subatomic region during a period of violent expansion a split second after the Big Bang.

A gamma-ray burst detected in February has led astronomers to a galaxy where the equivalent of 500 new suns is being formed each year.

The discovery of a new "starburst galaxy," made by researchers from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the California Institute of Technology, provides support for the theory that gamma-ray bursts are caused by exploding young massive stars. Details of the discovery are being presented today at the Gamma 2001 conference.

PASADENA, Ca-Particle physicists immerse themselves in a subatomic world. They deal with the quirkiest bits of matter-quarks, leptons, gauge bosons and the like-particles infinitesimally small, often unstable and short-lived, and sometimes so elusive they can't be seen at all, but are only theorized to exist. For his work in this area, the American Physical Society has awarded the California Institute of Technology's Mark Wise the J.J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics.

The American Astronomical Society (AAS) has awarded Wallace L. W. Sargent, the Ira S. Bowen Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology and former director of Palomar Observatory, with the AAS's highest honor, the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship. This honor, which is given annually by the AAS, recognizes "a lifetime of eminence in astronomical research."

Tom M. Apostol, professor of mathematics emeritus and the creator and project director of Project MATHEMATICS! at the California Institute of Technology, has been elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Athens.

Los Angeles-area high school students will team up with California Institute of Technology researchers to study ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays on their own campuses, thanks to a recent grant from the Weingart Foundation.

The California Institute of Technology has received a $10 million grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation to establish an endowment for the existing Sherman Fairchild Postdoctoral Scholars Program in theoretical physics, theoretical astrophysics, and mathematics.

Pasadena—Rahul Pandharipande, associate professor of mathematics at the California Institute of Technology, has been awarded a $625,000 Packard Fellowship for his work in advanced mathematics and the study of the geometry of algebraic curves.

Every year the foundation selects 24 Fellows to receive these awards, which are distributed over five years.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a five-year, $5 million grant to the California Institute of Technology to create an institute devoted to quantum information science—a new field that could ultimately lead to devices such as quantum computers.

The announcement was part of a $90 million information technology research initiative the NSF announced today in Washington. The awards are aimed at seeding fundamental research in innovative applications of information technology.

PASADENA—The California Institute of Technology has two new faculty geniuses, and each has been awarded $500,000 from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to prove it.