The most convincing evidence so far for gravitational waves was the observation in 1974 by two Princeton physicists, Joseph H. Taylor and his student Russell A. Hulse.

Princeton physicists hope to persuade Congress to spend some $600 million on a new research reactor called the Tokamak Physics Experiment, designed to run continuously rather than in pulses.

Lyman Page, a Princeton physicist, compared it to the glare of sunlight bouncing off the hood of a car.

Dr. Zeilinger suggested that reality and information are, in a deep sense, indistinguishable, a concept that Dr. Wheeler, the Princeton physicist, called "it from bit."

Kai Lee, notable Princeton physicist, expanded upon the approach in the late 1970s and early 1980s while pursuing a post-doctorate degree at UC Berkeley.

In a team with other Princeton physicists he produced Hydrogen 3 in 1934.

David Spergel, a Princeton physicist who worked with a team at Goddard on the project, said there were still centers of excellence that could serve as models for the agency.

John Wheeler, the Princeton physicist who died earlier this year, once said, "We will first realize how simple the universe is when we recognize how strange it is."

Frank von Hippel, the Princeton physicist, has reviewed the data, and he pointed out that this is a bit less alarming than it sounds.