Observational Tests of Inflation, Durham 1990.
I came across this old picture in my office today and couldn’t resist posting it for nostalgia’s sake. It was taken at a NATO Advanced Research Workshop called Observational Tests of Inflation, which took placed in Durham in December 1990. You’ll probably need to click on the image to be able to recognize faces, but I should at least point out Sir Fred Hoyle in the turquoise jacket in the front row; I am behind in the red and white T-shirt and black waistcoat. In those days I was considered quite trendy, among cosmologists.
You can also see George Smoot, Simon White and Alan Guth sitting next to each other in the front row.
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In the Dark 
July 31, 2012 at 6:52 pm
“quite trendy, among cosmologists” – great phrase. Would make a great name for an album
July 31, 2012 at 7:21 pm
Excellent stuff, still one of my favourite conferences ever! A bit disappointing that this photo didn’t feature somewhere in the olympic opening ceremony.
Andrew
July 31, 2012 at 7:27 pm
I spy you lurking behind my left shoulder…
I seem to remember this was taken the morning after our infamous night out in Newcastle; which would explain why Seb is not to be seen!
July 31, 2012 at 9:18 pm
That’s funny, I thought exactly the same thing!
July 31, 2012 at 8:26 pm
…once you start putting names to faces – its amazing who would come to the frozen north back then (some of them have even come back a second time).
i appear to be lurking over JAP’s left shoulder (adrian mellott does the same to you). is that huchra kneeling down in front of shanks?
and why has the picture been slashed with a knife? broadhurst and huchra seem to be the focus of the attack.
July 31, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Haven’t you see The Omen?
ps. Looking back, I realise I should have gone for the authentic Geordie look and worn only a T-shirt in December…
July 31, 2012 at 8:43 pm
some impressive physics jumpers there
July 31, 2012 at 11:17 pm
Thank you.
July 31, 2012 at 9:06 pm
Durham still gets complimented on the gastronomical as well as the astronomical delights we served up for the 1990 conference! Note that about a year from now we will be serving up another cosmology conference “Ripples in the Cosmos” (see http://astro.dur.ac.uk/ripples/) where the ripples are not just BAO but hopefully also metaphorical ripples from the latest Planck and LHC DM resultsl Hope Michael Rowan-Robinson doesnt mind us pinching the title of his 1993 book…
July 31, 2012 at 9:09 pm
I seem to remember Donald Lynden-Bell waxing lyrical about the sticky toffee pudding…
..and George Smoot going a strange colour when I explained what that black pudding he was eating for breakfast was actually made of.
July 31, 2012 at 9:46 pm
Others thought they had discovered cold dark matter….
July 31, 2012 at 11:22 pm
I remember asking Fred Hoyle over breakfast at that meeting if there was any area which he regretted studying, and expected him to say E. Coli, but he surprised me by replying ‘Cosmology’.
July 31, 2012 at 11:55 pm
Nial Tanvir looks exactly the same today. I think he might be a time traveller…
August 1, 2012 at 10:33 am
Is Gerhard Börner the guy behind me with the big bushy moustache?
August 1, 2012 at 12:04 pm
I thought that was either Robert Winston or Groucho Marx….
M.
August 1, 2012 at 12:09 pm
You mean they’re not the same person?
You never see them together…
August 1, 2012 at 12:42 pm
To our right of Hoyle is Arnold Wolfendale; to our left is Margaret Norman (conference secretary). To our right of Guth is Hans Bohringer. Chap with scarf is Francesco Melchiorri, man with bushy beard is Yehuda Hoffman.
Oh, and man with grey beard, whom I saw recently and who hasn’t changed at all in 22 years, is Mike Feast.
August 1, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Second left (of the picture): Ioannis Georgantopoulos. Fourth left (in front of Carlos): Gordon Stewart.
August 1, 2012 at 7:08 pm
[…] Yesterday’s old photograph reminded me of this classic from Private Eye ages ago. It appeared originally in the Guardian (before it went all Helvetica). Sorry it’s a bit battered… […]
August 1, 2012 at 7:50 pm
Where are all the female cosmologists? I only see two in the picture. They can’t all have been making sandwiches for the conference, can they?
M
August 1, 2012 at 8:28 pm
There really weren’t so many women working in cosmology in those days. At least this picture reminds us how times have changed.
August 2, 2012 at 5:29 am
Didn’t one of these guys just get $3 million plunked into his bank account by some Russian guy? All I get are Nigerians offering the same deal.
August 2, 2012 at 7:29 am
Just this very morning I received an email from the widow of the former Kenyan Minister for Inland Drainage and Rodent Control, offering me $27 Million US Dollars.
August 2, 2012 at 8:37 pm
[…] previous old conference photograph I posted seemed to be quite popular, so I thought I’d try an even older vintage. This was also taken […]
August 16, 2012 at 6:54 pm
Is there a proceedings somewhere? Would be of great interest
September 26, 2025 at 1:42 pm
[…] to meet George many times over the years and to get to know him quite well. The first time was at a meeting in Durham for which this was the conference […]