Phone: (773)702-7971
Location: TAAC 24
Email: friemanfnal.gov
WWW: Web Site

Research Interests: Structures in the Universe; Theory

Josh Frieman is a senior staff member (Scientist III) in the Theoretical Astrophysics group at Fermilab and the Fermilab Center for Particle Astrophysics. He is also Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, where he is a member of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics.
Frieman earned a B.Sc. degree from Stanford (1981) and a PhD in Physics from the University of Chicago (1985). After a postdoc in the SLAC Theory Group, he joined the scientific staff at Fermilab in 1988. He served as Head of the Theoretical Astrophysics Group from 1994 to 1999. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Trustee of the Aspen Center for Physics. He has served on the Executive Committee of the APS Divison of Astrophysics, on the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) of HEPAP, on the Astro 2010 Decadal Survey Committee, and on the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (AAAC).

Frieman's research centers on theoretical and observational cosmology, including studies of the nature of dark energy, the early Universe, gravitational lensing, the large-scale structure of the Universe, and supernovae as cosmological distance indicators. The author of over 230 publications, he led the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey, which discovered over 500 type Ia supernovae for cosmology studies, and served as chair of the SDSS Collaboration Council. He is a founder of and currently serves as Director of the Dark Energy Survey, a collaboration of over 120 scientists from 20 institutions on 3 continents, which is building a 570-Megapixel camera to carry out a wide-field survey on the Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile to probe the origin of cosmic acceleration.

Ongoing Scientific Projects:

• Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
• Dark Energy Survey (DES)
• SDSS Supernova Survey (SDSS SS)

Past Scientific Projects: Nearby Supernova Factory (SNfactory)

• Pizza with Professors, KICP News
• Live Q&A, webcast on Dark Energy Camera set for Oct. 12, The University of Chicago News Office
• World's most powerful digital camera begins hunt for dark energy, The University of Chicago News Office
• World's most powerful digital camera opens eye, records first images in hunt for dark energy, Fermilab Press Room
• KICP cosmologists Michael Turner and Joshua Frieman discuss Dark Energy and DES in an article in The Economist, The Economist
• 2011 physics Nobel laureates collaborators on UChicago, Fermilab projects, The University of Chicago News Office
• The proposal for our new Physics Frontier Center -- Pushing Cosmology to the Edge -- has been funded by NSF, KICP News
• Cosmologist Josh Frieman to present June 9 lecture on 'The Dark Universe', The University of Chicago News Office
• Josh Frieman of the KICP named Director of the Dark Energy Survey, Fermilab Today
• The Fall 2006 SDSS SN Campaign, KICP Highlight
• SDSS-II Supernova Survey explodes with new findings, KICP Highlight
• Sky-Skan's DigitalSky demonstrates latest visualizations at New Views of the Universe Symposium, SkySkan
• Scientists will observe 300 million ancient galaxies to measure mysterious dark energy, The University of Chicago Chronicle
• Sloan Digital Sky Survey uses gravitational lensing to compare the distributions, KICP Highlight

• KICP Workshop, First Annual GMT Community Science Meeting: "Cosmology in the Era of Extremely Large Telescopes" (organizer)
• KICP Event, SWIP/KICP Pizza with Professors
• KICP Event, Webcast with Josh Frieman, "Can a New Camera Unravel the Nature of Dark Energy?"
• KICP Workshop, "The Dark Energy Spectrometer" workshop (organizer)
• KICP Workshop, KICP Supernova Hub workshop: "Photometric Identification of Supernova" (organizer)
• KICP Workshop, PFC3 Collaboration Meeting
• PhD Thesis Defense, Jean-Rene Gauthier, "A comprehensive study of the cool gas content of massive dark matter halos"
• KICP Lecture, Josh Frieman, "The Dark Universe"
• KICP Lecture, Benjamin Dean Lecture: Josh Frieman, "The Dark Universe and the Origin of Structure"
• KICP Talk, Physics with a Bang! & Ask a Scientist
• KICP Workshop, Midwest Town Hall meeting on New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics
• KICP Cosmology Course, "The Dark Universe", Cosmology Short Course (course director)
• KICP Workshop, Beyond Beauty: A Panel Discussion on the Nature and Meaning of Images in Astrophysics
• PhD Thesis Defense, Felipe Marin, "The large-scale three-point correlation function of SDSS luminous red galaxies" (PhD advisor)
• KICP Workshop, Michael Turner's Universe: 60th Birthday Extravaganza
• KICP Workshop, "Viewing the Universe via the World Wide Web" (organizer)
• KICP Workshop, International Symposium: The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: From Asteroids to Cosmology (organizer)
• PhD Thesis Defense, Carlos Cunha, "Cross-Calibration of Cluster Mass-Observables and Dark Energy" (PhD advisor)
• PhD Thesis Defense, Benjamin E. Dilday, "Type Ia supernova rate studies from the SDSS-II Supernova Study" (PhD advisor)
• KICP Talk, Josh Frieman, Mapping the Heavens: "The Universe Revealed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey"
• KICP Cosmology Course, "Chicago Maps the Cosmos", Cosmology Short Course (course instructor)
• KICP Workshop, Cosmic Cartography Journey Through the Universe
• KICP Talk, KICP @ Great Lakes Planetarium Association Meeting
• KICP Workshop, New Views of the Universe, Kavli Institute Inaugural Symposium in memory of David Schramm (organizer)
• KICP Cosmology Course, "Big Bang & Beyond, 21st Century Cosmology", Cosmology Short Course (course instructor)
• KICP Workshop, Visualization of Astrophysical Data: Bringing Together Science, Art, and Education
• PhD Thesis Defense, David Johnston, " Measuring the galaxy-galaxy-mass three-point correlation function with weak gravitational lensing" (PhD advisor)
• KICP Workshop, Ground-Based Supernova Surveys (organizer)
• KICP Cosmology Course, "Origin of Structure in the Universe", Cosmology Short Course (course instructor)
• PhD Thesis Defense, Craig Wiegert, "Constraining compact dark matter with quasar equivalent widths from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Early Data Release" (PhD advisor)
• Workshop, EFI Mini-Symposium on the SDSS (organizer)
• KICP Workshop, Cosmological Probes of Dark Energy (organizer)

Past Students

GRADUATE: Felipe Marin (2010), Carlos E. Cunha (2008), Benjamin E. Dilday (2008), David Johnston (2003), Jonathan Mitchell (2003), Craig Wiegert (2003)

• Appointments committee
• PFC Executive committee

2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001


Latest Journal Publications

1. "The impact of camera optical alignments on weak lensing measures for the Dark Energy Survey", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 431, Issue 4, p.3291-3300 (Jun 2013)
2. "Properties of type Ia supernovae inside rich galaxy clusters", arXiv:1304.6431 (Apr 2013)
3. "Spectroscopic confirmation of DES12S2b", The Astronomer's Telegram, #4826 (Feb 2013)
4. "Spectroscopic confirmation of DES12S2a", The Astronomer's Telegram, #4800 (Feb 2013)
5. "Testing Models of Intrinsic Brightness Variations in Type Ia Supernovae and Their Impact on Measuring Cosmological Parameters", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 764, Issue 1, article id. 48, 18 pp. (2013) (Feb 2013)
6. "Cosmology with Photometrically Classified Type Ia Supernovae from the SDSS-II Supernova Survey", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 763, Issue 2, article id. 88, 28 pp. (2013) (Feb 2013)
7. "Spectroscopic confirmation of DES12S1a", The Astronomer's Telegram, #4741 (Jan 2013)
8. "Spectroscopic confirmation of DES12C3a", The Astronomer's Telegram, #4725 (Jan 2013)
9. "First SN Discoveries from the Dark Energy Survey", The Astronomer's Telegram, #4668 (Dec 2012)
10. "Semi-empirical catalog of early-type galaxy-halo systems: dark matter density profiles, halo contraction and dark matter annihilation strength", Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Issue 11, article id. 004 (2012) (Nov 2012)
11. "The Dark Energy Spectrometer (DESpec): A Multi-Fiber Spectroscopic Upgrade of the Dark Energy Camera and Survey for the Blanco Telescope", arXiv:1209.2451 (Sep 2012)
12. "The Multi-Object, Fiber-Fed Spectrographs for SDSS and the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey", arXiv:1208.2233 (Aug 2012)
13. "Type Ia Supernova Properties as a Function of the Distance to the Host Galaxy in the SDSS-II SN Survey", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 755, Issue 2, article id. 125, 14 pp. (2012) (Aug 2012)
14. "The SDSS-II Supernova Survey: Parameterizing the Type Ia Supernova Rate as a Function of Host Galaxy Properties", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 755, Issue 1, article id. 61, 24 pp. (2012) (Aug 2012)
15. "Supernova Simulations and Strategies for the Dark Energy Survey", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 753, Issue 2, article id. 152, 25 pp. (2012) (Jul 2012)
16. "A Precision Photometric Comparison between SDSS-II and CSP Type Ia Supernova Data", The Astronomical Journal, Volume 144, Issue 1, article id. 17, 17 pp. (2012) (Jul 2012)
17. "Photometric Supernova Cosmology with BEAMS and SDSS-II", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 752, Issue 2, article id. 79, 19 pp. (2012) (Jun 2012)
18. "SN 2006oz: rise of a super-luminous supernova observed by the SDSS-II SN Survey", Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 541, id.A129, 11 pp (May 2012)
19. "The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Lens Search. VI. Constraints on Dark Energy and the Evolution of Massive Galaxies", The Astronomical Journal, Volume 143, Issue 5, article id. 120, 14 pp. (2012) (May 2012)
20. "The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Lens Search. V. Final Catalog from the Seventh Data Release", The Astronomical Journal, Volume 143, Issue 5, article id. 119, 15 pp. (2012) (May 2012)

Latest Conference Proceedings

1. "The Dark Energy Survey: Overview", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #221, #335.01 (Jan 2013)
2. "Correlations Between Type Ia Supernovae and Their Host Galaxies Using the SDSS and Multi-wavelength Photometry", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #221, #106.06 (Jan 2013)
3. "The Dark Energy Spectrometer: a potential multi-fiber instrument for the Blanco 4-meter Telescope", Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV. Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 8446, article id. 844656, 13 pp. (2012) (Sep 2012)
4. "Dark Energy Spectrometer - A Proposed Multi-Fiber Instrument for the Blanco 4 Meter Telescope", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #422.09 (Jan 2012)
5. "WFC3 and WFPC2 Follow Up of Strong Gravitational Lenses", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #347.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011 (Jan 2011)
6. "SBAS: The Sloan Bright Arcs Survey", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #347.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011 (Jan 2011)
7. "The Dark Energy Survey", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #205.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011 (Jan 2011)
8. "Identifying Faint Supernovae in the SDSS-II SN Survey Data", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #215, #430.21; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.359 (Jan 2010)
9. "Constraining Star-Formation History in SNe Ia Host Galaxies Using Multi-wavelength Photometry", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #215, #430.11; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.357 (Jan 2010)
10. "Type Ia Supernova Rate from SDSS Spectra", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #213, #603.09 (Dec 2009)

Past Visitors:

1. Florian Beutler, University of Western Australia (2012)
2. Felipe Marin, Swinburne University (2011)
3. Roberto Trotta, Imperial College London (2011)
4. Felipe Marin, Swinburne University (2010)
5. Tamara Davis, University of Queensland (2009)
6. Renee Hlozek, University of Oxford (2009)
7. Alexandra Abate, University College London (2008)
8. Manda Banerji, University College London (2008)
9. Alison Coil, University of California, San Diego (2008)
10. Tamara Davis, University of Queensland (2008)
11. Eanna Flanagan, Cornell University (2008)
12. Marcelo Gleiser, Dartmouth College (2008)
13. Ofer Lahav, University College London (2008)
14. Julie McEnery, NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center (2008)
15. Jean Quashnock, Carthage College (2007)
16. Mat Smith, University of Portsmouth (2007)
17. Joseph Zuntz, Imperial College, London (2007)
18. Anna Cabre Albos, Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (2006)
19. David Cinabro, Wayne State University (2006)
20. Rogerio Rosenfeld, Instituto de Fisica Teorica-UNESP (2006)
21. Masao Sako, University of Pennsylvania (2006)
22. Brandon Allgood, University of California, Santa Cruz (2005)
23. Lifan Wang, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2005)
24. Alexander Conley, University of California, Berkeley (2004)
25. Masao Sako, Stanford University (2004)
26. Roman Scoccimarro, New York University (2004)
27. Andreas Berlind, New York University (2003)
28. Enrique Gaztanaga, Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica (2002)
29. Timothy McKay, University of Michigan (2002)
30. Erin Sheldon, University of Michigan (2002)