In announcing his award as a 2023 American Astronomical Society Fellow, he was cited "For his transformational leadership in the foundation of supernova cosmology, the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the universe, and precision measurements of the Hubble–Lemaître flow; for his service to the national and international astronomical communities; for considerable efforts on behalf of human rights, especially the LGBTQ community, both within astronomy and globally; and for establishing the astronomy program at Texas A&M University."[14]
He is a native of San Francisco and grew up in Corte Madera, California. He is the paternal grandson of Matvei Andrianovich Evdokimov (1887–1920) (Russian: Матвей Андрианович Евдокимов), one of the principal private arms manufacturers in czarist Russia, located in Izhevsk.[31] The Evdokimov factory in Izhevsk began in the 1860s by Andrian Nikandrovich Evdokimov (1844–1917 (Russian: Андриан Никандрович Евдокимов), and by 1890, was manufacturing Mosin–Nagant and Berdan rifles.[31][32] They continued production until the Russian Civil War in 1917. These rifles were used during the Revolution and World War I,[33] and were retooled for use during World War II, especially by the Finnish Army.
Although not supporters of the White cause, for their safety the family of Matvei fled east with Admiral Kolchak, the White Army, and the Czech Legion when the Whites captured Perm in 1918.[34] Matvei died at Manchurian Station (Manzhouli) near Chita. His only child, Nicholai Matveevich Evdiokimov (1918–1995) (Russian: Николай Матвеевич Евдокимов) continued with Matvei's wife Zoya Vasilevna Suntzeva (Russian: Зоя Васильевна Сунцевa) (1897–1976), with the Suntzeff family to Harbin China and then to the San Francisco in 1928. Nicholai assumed the last name of his mother and immigrated into the US as Nicholas Matveevich Suntzeff (Russian: Николай Матвеевич Сунцев). The Suntzeff family, prominent merchants from the Ural region, came from Motovilikha (now part of Perm, Russia) and have ancestry in the Udmurt people. A bridge "Сунцев мост" in Motovilikha was named after the family store nearby.[35]
Suntzeff is mentioned in the Alan Alda memoir, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned.[36]
^Phillips, M. M. (August 1993). "The absolute magnitudes of Type IA supernovae". Astrophysical Journal Letters. 413: L105–L108. Bibcode:1993ApJ...413L.105P. doi:10.1086/186970.
^
Supernovae. The Tenth Santa Cruz Workshop in Astronomy and Astrophysics, held July 9–21, 1989, Lick Observatory. Editor, S.E. Woosley; Springer-Verlag, New York, 1991.
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