Role Physicist Name Victor Weisskopf | Doctoral advisor Max Born Fields Physicist | |
 | ||
Born September 19, 1908
Vienna, Austria-Hungary ( 1908-09-19 ) Institutions University of Leipzig
University of Berlin
ETH Zurich
Niels Bohr Institute
University of Rochester
Manhattan Project
MIT
CERN Alma mater University of Gottingen Doctoral students Kerson Huang
J. David Jackson
Murray Gell-Mann
Kurt Gottfried
Lawrence Biedenharn Died April 22, 2002, Newton, Massachusetts, United States Education University of Gottingen (1931) Residence Austria, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, United States of America Awards Max Planck Medal, Wolf Prize in Physics Books The privilege of being a p, Knowledge and Wonder, Theoretical Nuclear Physics, The joy of insight, Physics in the twentieth Similar People Eugene Wigner, Kurt Gottfried, Max Born, Freeman Dyson, Gerard 't Hooft | ||
Nationality Austria, United States | ||
Scenes from two programs about victor weisskopf
Victor Frederick "Viki" Weisskopf (September 19, 1908 – April 22, 2002) was an Austrian-born American theoretical physicist. He did postdoctoral work with Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli and Niels Bohr. During World War II he was Group Leader of the Theoretical Division of the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, and later campaigned against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Contents
- Scenes from two programs about victor weisskopf
- Biography
- Personal life
- Decorations and awards
- Quotes
- Publications
- References
Biography
Weisskopf was born in Vienna to Jewish parents and earned his doctorate in physics at the University of Göttingen in Germany in 1931. His brilliance in physics led to work with the great physicists exploring the atom, especially Niels Bohr, who mentored Weisskopf at his institute in Copenhagen. By the late 1930s, he realized that, as a Jew, he needed to get out of Europe. Bohr helped him find a position in the United States.
In the 1930s and 1940s, 'Viki', as everyone called him, made major contributions to the development of quantum theory, especially in the area of Quantum Electrodynamics. One of his few regrets was that his insecurity about his mathematical abilities may have cost him a Nobel prize when he did not publish results (which turned out to be correct) about what is now known as the Lamb shift.
From 1937 to 1943 he was a Professor of Physics at the University of Rochester.
After World War II, Weisskopf joined the physics faculty at MIT, ultimately becoming head of the department. At MIT, he encouraged students to ask questions, and, even in undergraduate physics courses, taught his students to think like physicists, not just to learn physics. He was a memorable teacher.
Weisskopf was a co-founder and board member of the Union of Concerned Scientists. He served as director-general of CERN from 1961 to 1966.
Weisskopf was awarded the Max Planck Medal in 1956 and the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca in 1972, the National Medal of Science (1980), the Wolf Prize (1981) and the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences (1991).
Weisskopf was a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He was president of the American Physical Society (1960–61) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1976–1979).
He was appointed by Pope Paul VI to the 70-member Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1975, and in 1981 he led a team of four scientists sent by Pope John Paul II to talk to President Ronald Reagan about the need to prohibit the use of nuclear weapons.
In joint statement Preserving and Cherishing the Earth with other noted scientists including Carl Sagan it concluded that: The historical record makes clear that religious teaching, example, and leadership are powerfully able to influence personal conduct and commitment...Thus, there is a vital role for religion and science.
Personal life
He married Ellen Tvede. He was survived by his second wife Duscha.
Decorations and awards
Quotes
In class one day, speaking to junior physics majors (Spring, 1957): "There is no such thing as a stupid question."