[UPBEAT MUSIC]
JAMES PEEBLES: Thank you.
Who are you all?
I was awarded the Nobel Prize
for a lifetime of contributions
to the advance of this subject.
I have been working in
cosmology since 1964.
I've been in this subject and
seen it grow from a very small
science to an immense science --
[STUDENTS LAUGHING]
-- and it's making
enormous progress.
And so when I got the call,
the first question was,
will you accept this award?
[APPLAUSE]
ERIN HEALY: I am so excited
right now for what's happening.
Just last week in this very
room we had a weekly meeting --
the Gravity Group
here at Princeton --
and Jim spoke about the legacy
of cosmology at Princeton
and in general.
And I can't believe that was
Friday, and now it's Tuesday
and he has a Nobel Prize.
It's pretty insane.
HICHEM BOUCHAMAOUI: I
woke up this morning,
I looked at my phone, there
was like a notification
about Princeton's James
Peebles got the Nobel Prize.
And it felt so amazing,
because for the first time
I was like, Princeton,
that's us, that's me.
JO DUNKLEY: Ask any
of us about this prize
and about Jim winning
it and we would all say,
this is so well-deserved,
you know, about time.
Jim -- if we look at our fields,
this is something that has been
a long time coming.
Jim has been the leader
of our field for years --
a really important
leader of our field.
And to see this really
happening, to see this
actually being
awarded, it's just
huge validation of his impact
on the field of cosmology.
ZACH ATKINS: I think
I can speak for most
of the other first-year
graduate students
here that it's a
truly inspiring moment
to be entering our
career as a physicist,
and be able to be in
the presence of so
many great minds.
To have them be our direct
mentors and our teachers
on a daily basis, it's a
truly unparalleled experience.
KAIWEN ZHENG: Princeton has
such a strong cosmology group,
and there are also a
lot of collaborations
between experimental
groups like our groups
and theoretical groups.
I just feel really lucky
that I can be here and have
all those resources.
STEVEN LI: I feel in awe.
I am just flabbergasted by the
greatness that's around me,
and I feel very
humbled, as well.
CHRISTOPHER L.
EISGRUBER: Jim Peebles
is an extraordinary physicist.
A man who has thought deeply
and clearly about the structure
of the universe.
He exemplifies both
Princeton's tradition
of brilliant path-breaking
research in physics, cosmology
and gravitation, as well as
this university's commitment
to put its best scholars
in the classroom.
While searching the cosmos, Jim
never lost focus on what was
right in front of him --
his students.
I have to say, I was
one of those students
back in my undergraduate days.
And while he may
technically be emeritus,
Professor Peebles
has not stopped.
JAMES PEEBLES: I
respond via toast
to all of you whose
future looks so bright.
[APPLAUSE]
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
