Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky

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Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky
Born 1919
Germany
Died 2007
California
Nationality United States
Fields Physics
Institutions Stanford
Alma mater California Institute of Technology
Doctoral advisor Jesse DuMond[1]
Known for director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Notable awards
Spouse Adele Irene DuMond (m. 1942)
5 children: Richard Jacob, Margaret Anne, Edward Frank, Carol Eleanor, Steven Thomas[2]

Wolfgang Kurt Hermann "Pief" Panofsky (April 24, 1919 – September 24, 2007), was a physicist who won many awards including the National Medal of Science.

Early life

Panofsky was born the son of renowned art historian Erwin Panofsky in Berlin, Germany. He received his bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1938 and earned his Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1942.[2] In April 1942 he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen.[3]

Academic career

From 1945 to 1951, Panofsky held an assistant and then associate professorship at the University of California, Berkeley, before permanently establishing himself as Professor of Physics at Stanford University. Between 1961 and 1984, he was the director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and continued to serve as director emeritus. He was also on the Board of Directors of the Arms Control Association from 1996 until 1999 and remained a director emeritus until his death.

Panofsky was a member of the Board of Sponsors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists[4] and won the Matteucci Medal in 1996 for his fundamental contributions to physics. He was also a recipient of the National Medal of Science, the Franklin Medal (1970), the Ernest O. Lawrence Medal, the Leo Szilard Award and the Enrico Fermi Award.[2]

During his college days, Panofsky was called "Pief" by fellow students who found his full name unpronounceable. The childhood nickname seemed to suit the ebullient physicist, and it stayed with him throughout his long life.[5] A street in the area of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, is named "Panofsky Lane."

Awards[2]

Death

Panofsky died at the age of 88 on September 24, 2007 in Los Altos, California, from a heart attack. Panofsky stayed active at SLAC until his last day of life.[6]

Publications

  • Classical Electricity and Magnetism by Wolfgang Panofsky and Melba Phillips (1955, 1962, 1983, 1990): This book gives an accurate treatment of electricity and magnetism in its classical form and explains in detail the transition to its relativistic formulation. The original ideas are explained in great detail and thus make the book extraordinarily understandable, whereas modern books many times fall short in such explanations.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky, Particles and Policy, American Institute of Physics, 1994. ISBN 1-56396-247-0
  4. ↑ The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Board of Sponsors page (last accessed August 12, 2007).
  5. ↑ Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky, "Panofsky of Physics, Politics and Peace: Pief Remembers", Contributing Editor Jean Marie Deken, Springer, 2007. ISBN 978-0-387-69731-4
  6. ↑ Wolfgang Panofsky, Renowned Stanford Physicist and Arms Control Advocate, Dead at 88 September 25, 2007

External links

Preceded by
none
 SLAC Director
1961 – 1984		 Succeeded by
Burton Richter

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