Inauguration 

Nobel laureate and astrophysicist Arno A. Penzias will present the keynote address at the Inaugural Ceremony for Chancellor Sung-Mo "Steve" Kang.

Throughout his life, Penzias has been a researcher, educator and businessman. Penzias is known for his research in radio communication and related areas, and helped to pioneer a number of technology advances. Penzias was the first to detect the cosmic microwave background radiation. His part in discovering evidence supporting the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe, earned him the 1978 Nobel Prize in physics along with another radio astronomer, Robert Wilson.

Studying at the City College of the City University of New York, Penzias earned his bachelor's degree in physics in 1954. He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps for two years, and then returned to New York. He continued his studies at Columbia University, where he was awarded his master's degree in 1958 and his doctorate in 1962, both in physics.

Since 1961, Penzias has been associated with the Radio Research Laboratories at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey. When Penzias began work at Bell Labs, the laboratory was part of AT&T Corp. Since 1996, the laboratory has been a division of Lucent Technologies, a spin-off company of AT&T.

From 1961 to 1972, Penzias was a staff member of the radio research department, and from 1972 to 1976, he was head of the radiophysics research department. In 1976, he became the director of the Radio Research Laboratory, and he served as director of the Communications Sciences Research Division from 1979 to 1981. From 1981 to 1995, Penzias was vice president of research for Bell Labs. Penzias served as vice president and chief scientist from 1995 to 1998, and was instrumental in building the firm's reputation for scientific excellence.

Penzias retired from his vice presidency and chief scientist position in 1998 to work as an advisor and spokesperson for Lucent Technologies.

Penzias became a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates, a California-based venture capital firm specializing in information technology and medical and life sciences, in 1998.

In addition to his posts in the telecommunications industry, Penzias also concurrently held a series of academic positions. The first of these was as lecturer in the department of astrophysical science at Princeton University in New Jersey from 1967 to 1982. After that, he held many yearlong honorary lecturer positions at diverse institutions, including the National Radio Astronomical Observatory in West Virginia and Stanford University in California.

Penzias has also written several books, including The Grace A. Tanner Lecture: In Human Values (Computer-Enhanced Human Beings) (1987), Ideas and Information: Managing in a High-Tech World (1989), and Digital Harmony: Business, Technology, and Life after Paperwork (1995), as well as numerous technical articles and patents.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, he has garnered many other awards. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering and he and Bob Wilson received the NAS Henry Draper Medal in 1977 for outstanding original investigations in astronomical physics. He was awarded the Herschel Medal by the Royal Astronomical Society, 1977. In addition, Penzias continues to serve as vice chairman of the Committee of Concerned Scientists, a national organization devoted to working for the political freedom of scientists in countries where it is endangered.