A NOW commonly used technique to measure the expansion of the universe has earned a Durham University scientist an international prize.

Professor Shaun Cole, deputy director of Durham’s Institute for Computational Cosmology, collected The Shaw Prize in Astronomy at a ceremony in Hong Kong.

The award, which is shared with two other scientists and comes with a $1m prize, was made in recognition of Prof Cole’s work on the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) which conducted a study of 250,000 galaxies using the Anglo-Australian Telescope.

Reporting their findings in 2005, Professor Cole and his colleagues showed that baryon acoustic oscillations – sound waves that spread during the first 400,000 years after the Big Bang – could be used to measure distances in the universe and the rate at which it is expanding.

Professor Cole will share the prize with colleague Professor John Peacock from Edinburgh University and Professor Daniel Eisenstein whose work on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey was published at the same time as the 2dFGRS findings and came to the same conclusion.

All three scientists presented a description of their work at a public lecture at the Hong Kong University of science and technology.

Prof Cole said the prize was a “wonderful recognition” of the team’s work.

He added: “This was an important discovery in furthering our understanding of the standard cosmological model of the Universe and the theory that dark energy could be driving its growth.

“Today’s award is a wonderful honour and has come as a tremendous surprise. I am delighted to share it with my colleagues and I’m pleased that the work we have carried out continues to inform the work of scientists today in furthering our knowledge of the cosmos.”

The Shaw Prize is an international award to honour individuals who have made outstanding contributions in academic and scientific research or applications.