Arno Penzias was Vice President and Chief Scientist at Bell Laboratories, the Research and Development unit of Lucent Technologies. He retired in 1998.

In 1978, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for his research into one of the weightiest of all scientific questions: the origin of the universe. Dr. Penzias helped isolate the primordial celestial radio signal which lent validity to the theory of the Big Bang. A decade and a half earlier, Penzias was part of the group that developed Telstar and Echo, the United States' first communications satellites.

In his role as Chief Scientist, Dr. Penzias supported Bell Labs and Lucent Technologies' efforts to educate customers about technology. It is our hope that this Web Site will help to educate you not only about Bell Labs' seven decades of innovation, but introduce you to a man who has continually demonstrated selfless devotion to championing the causes of science education, diversity in the workplace, and freedom from political oppression for scientists worldwide.