• 2006 He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the Cosmic
Background Explorer (COBE) with John C. Mather that established the
blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation. According to the Nobel Prize committee, “the COBE project can also
be regarded as the starting point for cosmology as a precision science.”
Smoot donated the majority of his share of the Nobel Prize money to a
charitable foundation.
Jose V. Siles
He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Telecommunication and Electrical
Engineering from the Technical University of Madrid Spain, in 2003 and 2008,
respectively. In 2008 and 2010, he was a postdoc at the Observatory of ParisLERMA, participating in several programs funded by the CNES, the European
Space Agency and the European Commission. In September 2010 he joined the
Submillimeter-Wave Advanced Technology Group at NASA-JPL as a Fulbright
Postdoctoral Fellow. He participated in several programs to develop terahertz
technology, including frequency multiplied sources and receivers for the CNES,
ESA, the European Commission and NASA-JPL. He is an experienced terahertz
component and circuit designer, having designed and tested terahertz sources and
mixer circuits for radio astronomy, planetary science and Earth science, as well as
for communications and radar applications. In 2015-2016 and again in 2016-2017
he was responsible for the delivery, assembly, and I&T in Antarctica of the first
multi-pixel terahertz local oscillator system for NASA’s Stratospheric Terahertz
Observatory (STO-2), which was successfully launched in December 2016. He is
PI of several NASA-funded tasks to develop the next-generation of high-spectral
resolution submillimeter-wave instruments to expand astrophysics and planetary
science. He is Project Manager and technical lead of the NASA balloon mission
Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution Observations
at Submillimeter-wavelengths (ASTHROS) scheduled to launch from Antarctica
on December 2023. Dr. Siles is the recipient of many NASA and other awards.
296 Appendix 2: Scientists and Engineers in Ballooning
Background Explorer (COBE) with John C. Mather that established the
blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation. According to the Nobel Prize committee, “the COBE project can also
be regarded as the starting point for cosmology as a precision science.”
Smoot donated the majority of his share of the Nobel Prize money to a
charitable foundation.
Jose V. Siles
He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Telecommunication and Electrical
Engineering from the Technical University of Madrid Spain, in 2003 and 2008,
respectively. In 2008 and 2010, he was a postdoc at the Observatory of ParisLERMA, participating in several programs funded by the CNES, the European
Space Agency and the European Commission. In September 2010 he joined the
Submillimeter-Wave Advanced Technology Group at NASA-JPL as a Fulbright
Postdoctoral Fellow. He participated in several programs to develop terahertz
technology, including frequency multiplied sources and receivers for the CNES,
ESA, the European Commission and NASA-JPL. He is an experienced terahertz
component and circuit designer, having designed and tested terahertz sources and
mixer circuits for radio astronomy, planetary science and Earth science, as well as
for communications and radar applications. In 2015-2016 and again in 2016-2017
he was responsible for the delivery, assembly, and I&T in Antarctica of the first
multi-pixel terahertz local oscillator system for NASA’s Stratospheric Terahertz
Observatory (STO-2), which was successfully launched in December 2016. He is
PI of several NASA-funded tasks to develop the next-generation of high-spectral
resolution submillimeter-wave instruments to expand astrophysics and planetary
science. He is Project Manager and technical lead of the NASA balloon mission
Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution Observations
at Submillimeter-wavelengths (ASTHROS) scheduled to launch from Antarctica
on December 2023. Dr. Siles is the recipient of many NASA and other awards.
296 Appendix 2: Scientists and Engineers in Ballooning