Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky
Wolfgang Kurt Hermann "Pief" Panofsky (April 24, 1919 – September 24, 2007), was a German-American physicist.
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[edit] 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 obtained his PhD from Caltech in 1942. Around this time (in 1942), he became a U.S. citizen.[1]
[edit] 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[2] 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.[1]
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.[3] A street in the area of the Institute of Advanced Studies, Princeton, NJ, is named "Panofsky Lane".
[edit] Awards
- Franklin Medal (1970)
[edit] 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.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Obituary in The New York Times
- Obituary in The Times, 2 October 2007
- W.K.H. Panofsky's SLAC web page
- SLAC Archives and History Office Panofsky web page
- July 2006 Interview with Dr. Panofsky (PDF)
- Peace talk: My life negotiating science and policy by W. K. H. Panofsky (PDF)
- Oral history interview transcript with Wolfgang K.H. Panofsky 15 May 1973, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- SLAC Director's Office
[edit] References
- ^ a b Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky, Particles and Policy, American Institute of Physics, 1994. ISBN 1563962470
- ^ The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Board of Sponsors page (last accessed August 12, 2007).
- ^ Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky, "Panofsky ofn Physics, Politics and Peace: Pief Remembers", Contributing Editor Jean Marie Deken, Springer, 2007. ISBN 9780387697314
- ^ Wolfgang Panofsky, Renowned Stanford Physicist and Arms Control Advocate, Dead at 88 September 25, 2007
| Preceded by none |
SLAC Director 1961 – 1984 |
Succeeded by Burton Richter |
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- 1919 births
- 2007 deaths
- Princeton University alumni
- California Institute of Technology alumni
- American physicists
- Jewish American scientists
- Enrico Fermi Award recipients
- Guggenheim Fellows
- Members of the French Academy of Sciences
- National Medal of Science laureates
- Stanford University faculty
- University of California, Berkeley faculty
- Deaths from myocardial infarction
- American physicist stubs
