In 1948, a young Ralph Alpher presented his doctoral thesis. It explored the origin of the chemical elements very early in a Universe that began with a bang - the Big Bang. This monumental work lead to the conclusion that the cooling glow of this primordial fireball still permeates the sky.

Continuing work with Robert Herman refined ideas on the synthesis of the elements, ultimately explaining where over 99% of the visible Universe came from. They also predicted both the current temperature and nature of the Big Bang's relic radiation - but they were well ahead of their time. Ralph and his co-workers couldn't convince observational astronomers to look for this radiation, and it wasn't detected until 1964 - by accident.

The discovery of the cosmic background radiation not only vindicated Ralph's work, it put the Big Bang theory at the forefront of cosmology - and turned cosmology into a serious science.

This year's presidential election is considered big news, yet who will be President for the next four years truly pales in comparison to what Ralph Alpher has given us. 100 years from now, who will still care whether it was Bush or Gore? Ralph has given us something that will be remembered as long as civilization exists - the key to the birth of the material Universe.

Ralph's work was listed in the American Physical Society News under the Top Ten Astronomical Triumphs of the Millennium. I dare say - probably longer.

Ralph Alpher is one of the reasons I became involved with astronomy. The grandeur of such ideas stirs my very soul. So I'd like to thank you, Ralph, and present you with this T-shirt. It says, "I lit the fuse". And while you may not have ignited the Big Bang itself, you truly lit the fuse to our understanding of the universe - and generated an explosion of study and knowledge in cosmology.