Arthur R. Von Hippel, in Memoriam (1898–2003): a Tribute to The

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Arthur R. Von Hippel, in Memoriam (1898–2003): a Tribute to The www.mrs.org/publications/bulletin California; Istanbul; and Copenhagen. Many of these moves were the result of the turbulent times in Germany early in his career. Arthur R. von Hippel, Coming from a strong academic back- ground, with a father and grandfather who had been successful university pro- fessors—and a Nobel Laureate father-in- In Memoriam law, James Franck—von Hippel had a passion, a vision, and an opportunity to do something important upon his arrival (1898–2003): at MIT in 1936. His experiences in fleeing his home to escape from Nazi Germany and the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe triggered von Hippel to do im- A Tribute to the portant scientific work to curtail and counteract the technological strength of the Nazis. The United States was just be- ginning to ramp up its military strength, Interdisciplinary and von Hippel was eager to participate personally and through his laboratory in the science and technology explosion of that time. The environment of MIT during Materials Research the war years turned researchers toward goal-oriented, large programs. It was also a time when relatively young and capable people could assume large responsibilities. He Spawned Von Hippel flourished in this environment. To do insulation research at the cutting M.S. Dresselhaus and P.Chaudhari, edge in the 1930s required expertise span- ning several academic fields, including Guest Editors materials preparation, characterization, properties measurements, and device ap- plications. The strong emphasis on funda- Abstract mental science as a scaffold for building an interdisciplinary program came both This article introduces the November 2005 issue of MRS Bulletin on the life and works from von Hippel’s early training and from of Arthur Robert von Hippel, who pioneered the interdisciplinary approach to materials the realization during World War II that research. This issue of MRS Bulletin celebrates his long life, his large volume of work, many of the innovative and high-impact, and the overall impact he had on materials research as practiced today.This introductory large programs involved the development article summarizes the start and progression of the various fields presented in this issue, of much fundamental science to allow and how many were inspired directly by von Hippel’s work and ways, and how new fields breakthrough technological advances— continue to emerge based on the same foundations of interdisciplinarity.The articles in like radar and the Manhattan Project—to this issue cover research areas in which von Hippel was involved, namely, ferroelectrics occur. The MIT setting of highly capable and magnetism; fields that thrived on an interdisciplinary approach that von Hippel personnel (students and staff) further rein- represented, such as semiconductors; and areas that reflect his own vision about mate- forced this approach. Von Hippel’s vehicle rials research and interests later in life, including molecular design and biomaterials. was the Laboratory for Insulation Re- Before the scientific work is presented, the issue begins with a personal sketch of von search (LIR), which he established in 1937. Hippel, contributed by his son Frank N. von Hippel. Not only was the interdisciplinary as- pect of the LIR a novel vision of the future, Keywords: Arthur von Hippel, biomaterials, ferroelectrics, insulation research, but von Hippel’s interest in studying a interdisciplinary, magnetism, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, materials research, large variety of different kinds of mate- MIT, molecular design, semiconductors. rials also became part of his vision. Com- ing from the Department of Electrical Engineering, von Hippel applied his knowledge of this type of interdisciplinary It can be said that when Arthur Robert several areas of applied physics, dating engineering to a variety of materials, such von Hippel joined the faculty of the Mass- from his PhD thesis completion in 1924, as conductors of electricity, insulators, and achusetts Institute of Technology in 1936, including the sputtering of metals, the ion- magnetic materials. His colleagues the era of interdisciplinary materials re- ization characteristics of mercury atoms watched his interest in different categories search was born. Karl Taylor Compton, caused by electron impact, electric break- of materials grow over the years; toward the then president of MIT, was a visionary, down of gases, and high-voltage phenom- end of his career, he became enamored with and he attracted people who could “think ena. He had also worked in many settings water (which he considered the basis of life) big” and be leaders. At the time of his ap- around the world, including Göttingen and biological materials, which fascinated pointment, von Hippel had experience in and Jena in his native Germany; Berkeley, him as he asked the recurring question 830 MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 30 • NOVEMBER 2005 Arthur R. von Hippel: A Tribute to Interdisciplinary Materials Research the interdisciplinary research practiced LIR in his youth, thereby providing per- there. sonal insights into the discovery process The first technical article, by Robert E. in von Hippel’s laboratory. In this article, Newnham and L. Eric Cross, is on ferro- the authors trace the evolution of the fer- electrics—insulators with strong and roelectric BaTiO3 into a broader class of permanent electric polarizations—a field dielectric and piezoelectric materials and that von Hippel influenced strongly at their use in a variety of applications the very early stage of its development. ranging from capacitors to transducers. We Von Hippel’s entry into the field stemmed note the interplay between fundamental from his strong commitment to develop- science and applications in von Hippel’s ing more effective insulating materials. laboratory, so characteristic of materials Therefore, materials with the potential science as we see it today. of achieving very high dielectric con- The second technical article is written stants would hold great interest for him. by John B. Goodenough, a luminary in the Von Hippel’s ground-breaking work on magnetism field who got to know von Hippel the ceramic ferroelectric BaTiO3 brought at an early stage of Goodenough’s own him international fame and led to the career, with interactions between the two golden years of the LIR, corresponding men continuing long after von Hippel’s Arthur von Hippel at age 100; photo roughly to the decade before von Hippel’s retirement. The article focuses on the taken by his grandson, photographer retirement in 1964. Through his research structural and magnetic properties of Jonas A. Kahn (www.jonaskahn.com). efforts on BaTiO3, we see his scholarship ferrospinels and to some extent on gar- and his vision for understanding the be- nets, which saw significant activity at the about what was different between a “liv- havior of materials at the molecular level, LIR during the 1950s. In this work, we get ing” material and an inanimate material. his interdisciplinary approach to carrying a glimpse of the importance of the quality With this issue of MRS Bulletin, we cele- out the research itself, gaining detailed of materials, typified by a single crystal of brate the long life, the large volume of control of the materials synthesis process, Fe3O4, in establishing the underlying work, and the overall impact of Arthur characterizing the materials from several mechanism of a variety of magnetic phe- von Hippel on materials research. Because complementary standpoints, and then nomena. But beyond that, we see the of the many similarities in the vision of using all this knowledge to make devices breadth of interest of von Hippel and of von Hippel and the goals of the Materials that would have some impact on society. his colleagues and how they worked to- Research Society as embodied and ex- The authors chosen to write the article are gether at his laboratory. The ferrospinels pressed in MRS Bulletin, we also celebrate both long-term experts in the field, and von Hippel studied were insulating, and the 30th anniversary of the Bulletin Newnham himself was a member of the in that sense fit into the framework of his this year. In choosing the content of the issue to celebrate the life and work of von Hippel, we selected articles and au- thors in a special way. First, we have a short biography written by his third son, Frank N. von Hippel, that is intended to acquaint readers with the warmth and motivation of the man behind the science and the technology. We selected the personal sketch to come first because Arthur von Hippel ap- proached his scientific collaborators first with a cup of tea and cookies. Before start- ing serious work, he liked to strengthen personal relations and to discuss the big picture in a gracious atmosphere. He also wanted to be sure that his colleagues were enjoying music and art and getting enough exercise. His concern for people went far beyond his MIT collaborators, and all who knew Arthur knew about the many care packages he and his wife Dagmar sent to people abroad who were recovering from the ravages of the war years or simply to those in need. These personal aspects of von Hippel strongly affected the mutual and long-term dedica- tion he developed with his collaborators. Frank N. von Hippel focuses on the warm surroundings of the von Hippel family, but also conveys the spill-over of this am- “The Prof”: Arthur von Hippel with students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, biance to the von Hippel laboratory and to circa late 1950s. MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 30 • NOVEMBER 2005 831 Arthur R. von Hippel: A Tribute to Interdisciplinary Materials Research laboratory, but the science and applica- involvement in device development stem- typified by the brief description given in tions of the programs took him far afield ming from the basic science. When enter- Goodenough’s article, can trace their roots from dielectric breakdown phenomena ing a new field with uncertain outcomes, to the work done in von Hippel’s laboratory.
Recommended publications
  • Copyright by CLP Research 1600 1700 1750
    Spencer Compton 1600Copyright by CLP Research (1601-43) (2d Earl of Northampton); (Royalist/KIA fighting for King Charles I) Main Political Affiliation: Partial Genealogy of the Comptons = Mary Beaumont (1604-54) (of Ohio) 9 Others William Compton I 1763-83 Whig/Revolutionary (1622-94) 1789-1823 Republican (Emigrated from Northamptonshire, England to Long Island, New York, 1647); (moved to Middlesex co. New Jersey) 1824-33 National Republican = Mary Wilmot (1635-1713) See Wilmot of PA 1834-53 Whig 6 Others William Compton II Genealogy 1854- Republican (1649-1709) 1650 (born Long Island, New York); (moved to Middlesex co. New Jersey, then Monmouth co. NJ) = Mary Brown (1653-84) 9 Others Richard Compton (1667-1710); (merchant-store/farmer) = Providence Isselstyne (1664-1702) 6 Others Isselstyne Compton (1694-1763) 1700 = Orchie Altje Blaaw (1700-30) 7 Others Azariah Compton (1738-1825) (Rev War/Yorktown) = Margaret Mary Burlu 1750 (1760?-at least 1811) 7 Others Elias Compton (1788-1864); (farmer) (born Rosemont, Hunterdon co. NJ); (moved to Hamilton co. Ohio, 1816) Catheryne Die = = Bathsheba Hill 1800 (1790s?-1813) (1790-1832) 2 SonsWilson Martindale Compton 5 Others (1828-1908); (farmer) (born Springfield, Hamilton co. OH) = Elizabeth Hunt (1832-at least 1880) Rev. Elias Compton 4 Others 1850 (1856-at least 1927) (Wooster University professor of philosophy; dean) = Otelia Catheryne Augspurger (1858-1944) Dr. Karl Taylor Compton Dr. Wilson Martindale Comton 1 Daughter Arthur Holly Compton (1887-1954); (PhD/physics) (1890-1967); (PhD/physics) (1892-1962); (PhD/physics) (born Wooster, Wayne co. OH) (born Wooster, Wayne co. OH) (born Wooster, Wayne co. OH); (moved to Chicago, Cook co.
    [Show full text]
  • The Legacy of Mildred Dresselhaus, the Queen of Carbon
    The legacy of Mildred Dresselhaus, the Queen of Carbon Zeila Zanolli RWTH Aachen June 7, 2017 - ETSF Young Researchers Meeting, Tarragona Mildred Dresselhaus Laid the foundations for C nanotechnology: Pioneer of experimental techniques to study 2D materials Predicted the possibility and characteristics of CNTs (band structure, …) Low-dimensional thermolectrics: model of thermal transport in nanostructures, energy materials, electronic properties, phonons, electron-phonon interactions, … Her work has been crucial for developing lithium-ion batteries, electronic devices, renewable-energy generators, … [email protected] Millie: Institute Professor at MIT > 1700 publications h-index 135 > 25 prestigious awards 28 honorary doctorates Supervised >60 PhD 57 years at MIT [email protected] How did she started? [email protected] Millie: a tale of persistence 1930: born in Brooklyn lived in the Bronx family of immigrants, quite poor during the Great Depression 1936 ( 6 y): got a scholarship for a Music school and heard about the Hunter College “My teachers didn’t think it was possible to get in. But Hunter sent me a practice exam, and I studied what I needed to know to pass the exam.” at Hunter, Rosalyn Yalow (future Nobel laureate) encouraged Millie in pursuing a scientific career. 1951 (21 y): Bachelor, Hunter College, New York [email protected] Millie as Young Researcher 1953 (23 y): MA, Radcliffe College on a Fulbright Fellowship, Cambridge (MA) & Harvard 1958 (28 y): PhD, University of Chicago on the properties of superconductors in a magnetic field. Daily chats with E. Fermi. “My nominal thesis adviser told me in 1955 that women had no place in physics” I told him that I was not expecting to have others show interest in my work.
    [Show full text]
  • Arthur Holly Compton
    Arthur Holly Compton ALSO LISTED IN Physicists ALSO KNOWN AS Arthur Holly Compton FAMOUS AS Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics NATIONALITY American Famous American Men RELIGION Baptist BORN ON 10 September 1892 AD Famous 10th September Birthdays ZODIAC SIGN Virgo Virgo Men BORN IN Wooster, Ohio, USA DIED ON 15 March 1962 AD PLACE OF DEATH Berkeley, California, USA FATHER Elias Compton MOTHER Otelia Catherine SIBLINGS Karl Taylor Compton, Wilson Martindale Compton SPOUSE: Betty Charity McCloskey CHILDREN Arthur Allen Compton, John Joseph Compton EDUCATION University of Cambridge, The College of Wooster, Princeton University DISCOVERIES / INVENTIONS Compton Effect AWARDS: Nobel Prize for Physics (1927) Matteucci Medal (1930) Franklin Medal (1940) Hughes Medal (1940) Arthur Holly Compton was a renowned American physicist who first rose to fame with his famous revolutionary discovery of the Compton Effect for which he also won the Nobel Prize in Physics. This discovery confirmed the dual nature of electromagnetic radiation as both a wave and a particle. Thomson was initially interested in astronomy before he shifted his focus to the study of quantum physics. He started his research in Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University and this research led to the discovery of Compton Effect. Later on, during the Second World War, Compton became head of the Manhattan Project’s Metallurgical Laboratory. Manhattan Project developed the first nuclear weapons of the world and Compton played a key role in it. He also served as Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis. Under his leadership, the University made remarkable academic progress; the university formally desegregated its undergraduate divisions, named its first female full professor, and enrolled a record number of students.
    [Show full text]
  • (Owen Willans) Richardson
    O. W. (Owen Willans) Richardson: An Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Center Descriptive Summary Creator: Richardson, O. W. (Owen Willans), 1879-1959 Title: O. W. (Owen Willans) Richardson Papers Dates: 1898-1958 (bulk 1920-1940) Extent: 112 document boxes, 2 oversize boxes (49.04 linear feet), 1 oversize folder (osf), 5 galley folders (gf) Abstract: The papers of Sir O. W. (Owen Willans) Richardson, the Nobel Prize-winning British physicist who pioneered the field of thermionics, contain research materials and drafts of his writings, correspondence, as well as letters and writings from numerous distinguished fellow scientists. Call Number: MS-3522 Language: Primarily English; some works and correspondence written in French, German, or Italian . Note: The Ransom Center gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics, which provided funds to support the processing and cataloging of this collection. Access: Open for research Administrative Information Additional The Richardson Papers were microfilmed and are available on 76 Physical Format reels. Each item has a unique identifying number (W-xxxx, L-xxxx, Available: R-xxxx, or M-xxxx) that corresponds to the microfilm. This number was recorded on the file folders housing the papers and can also be found on catalog slips present with each item. Acquisition: Purchase, 1961 (R43, R44) and Gift, 2005 Processed by: Tessa Klink and Joan Sibley, 2014 Repository: The University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Center Richardson, O. W. (Owen Willans), 1879-1959 MS-3522 2 Richardson, O. W. (Owen Willans), 1879-1959 MS-3522 Biographical Sketch The English physicist Owen Willans Richardson, who pioneered the field of thermionics, was also known for his work on photoelectricity, spectroscopy, ultraviolet and X-ray radiation, the electron theory, and quantum theory.
    [Show full text]
  • A Classic in Mathematics COURANT-HILBERT VOLUME 2 Partial Differential Equations by R~ Courant
    AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY VOLUME 8, NUMBER 5 ISSUE NO. 56 OCTOBER 1961 THE AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY oticeiJ Edited by GORDON L. WALKER CONTENTS MEETINGS Calendar of Meetings . • . • • • • • . • • • . • • .. • • • . • • • . • . • . • • • . • . 3 92 Program of the Five Hundred Eighty-third Meeting in Cambridge, Massachusetts •.•.•.•. 393 Abstracts of the Meeting- pages 423-436 PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENTS OF MEETINGS •••••••..••••..••.... 398 ACTIVITIES OF OTHER ASSOCIATIONS .•.•.••••..•....•••..•.... , • 402 FELLOWSHIP AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES •.•••..•....•...••..•. 403 lHE ANNUAL SALARY SURVEY ••.•.••••.•••.•....•.•••.•.•.•.•.. 406 STARTING SALARIES FOR MATHEMATICIANS WITH A PH.D •••..•.••.•••. 409 NEWS ITEMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • . • • . • • • . • . • . • . • . • . • • • . 410 PERSONAL ITEMS .•....•.•••..•.•.........•.•••.•.••..•.••.. 412 MEMORANDA TO MEMBERS Australian Mathematical Society Summer Research Institute .•••..•.•.. 401 Proceedings Editorial Committee .••..•..•.•........•••.•.•.•. 420 Two Volumes of Mathematical Reviews in 1962 •.••••••••.••.•.•.•. 420 Berliner Mathematische Gesellschaft e. V. .•.•...•••.•••••.... 4ZO Dmtsche Mathematiker Vereinigung ••...•.•••••...•.•...•...•. 420 Union Matematica Argentina ......••.•••••.••..••..•.•. , • • . • . 420 SUPPLEMENTARY PROGRAM N0.6 .••••..•••••.•••.•...•.......•• 421 ABSTRACTS OF CONTRIBUTED PAPERS ..•.••..•.....•••.•.•...•.. 423 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS ••••....••.•••.•....••.....•••••••.•.• 459 MEETINGS CALENDAR OF MEETINGS Note: This Calendarlists all of the meetings which
    [Show full text]
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology Bulletin
    PRES IDENT'S REPO RT ISSUE Volume ninety, Number two a November, 1954 MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BULLETIN _ _I ___ I __ ~~~ Entered July 3, 1933, at the Post Ofice, Boston, Massachusetts, as second-class matter, under Act of Congress of August 24, 1912 Published by the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Cambridge Station, Boston, Massachusetts, in March, June, July, October and November. Issucs of the Bulletin include the REPORTS OF THE PRESIDENT and OF THE TREASURER, the SUMMER SESSION CATALOGUE, the GENERAL CATALOGUE, and THIS IS M. I. T. Published under the auspices of the M. I. T. Ofice of Publications __ Massachusetts Institute of Technology Bulletin PRESIDENT'S REPORT ISSUE Volume 90, Number 2 . November, 1954 _~1·_1__1_·_1 1--~111.1~^~-·~-····IIY·i The Corporation, 1954-1955 President: JAMES R. KILLIAN, JR. Vice-President and Provost: JULIUS A. STRATTON Vice-President and Treasurer:JosEPH J. SNYDER Vice-President for Industrial and Government Relations: EDWARD L. COCHRANE Secretary: WALTER HUMPHREYS LIFE MEMBERS WALTER HUMPHREYS RALPH E. FLANDERS DUNCAN R. LINSLEY JOHN R. MACOMBER JAMES M. BARKER THOMAS D. CABOT ALFRED L. LooMIS THOMAS C. DESMOND CRAWFORD H. GREENEWAL r HARLOW SHAPLEY J. WILLARD HAYDEN JAMES McGowAN, JR. ALFRED P. SLOAN, JR. MARSHALL B. DALTON HAROLD B. RICHMOND REDFIELD PROCTOR ROBERT E. WILSON LLOYD D. BRACE GODPREY L. CABOT DONALD F. CARPENTER THOMAS D'A. BROPHY BRADLEY DEWEY HORACE S. FORD WILLIAM A. COOLIDGE FRANCIS J. CHESTERMAN GEORGE A. SLOAN MERVIN J. KELLY VANNEVAR BUSH WALTER J. BEADLE ROBERT T. HASLAM WILLIAM EMERSON B. EDWIN HUTCHINSON RALPH LOWELL IRVING W.
    [Show full text]
  • CSAIL Academic Genealogy
    Arthur Minot Geoffrion Stanford 1965 Dominic de Guzman (St. Dominic) Søren Rasmussen University of Palencia Universitet i Oslo Roy Earl Marsten UCLA 1971 Reginald of Saint-Gilles Nilos Kabasilas Bernt Michael Holmboe ??? ??? ??? Franz Oppacher Kathleen Rose McKeown Joseph Weizenbaum Universität Wien Penn 1982 Wayne State University 1950 (M.S.) Jordan of Saxony Demetrios Kydones Elissaeus Judaeus Carl Anton Bjerknes Cato Maximilian Guldberg Université de Paris Constantinople ??? ??? ??? John Clinton Loehlin Una-May O’Reilly UC Berkeley 1957 Regina Barzilay George Anthony Gorry, Jr. Carleton University 1995 Columbia 2003 MIT 1967 Johannes Pagus Albertus Magnus Manuel Chrysoloras Georgios Plethon Gemistos Marius Sophus Lie ??? ??? ??? 1380, 1393 University of Christiania 1872 Alfred Kriss Susskind Henry Fuchs ??? Utah 1975 Cornelis Benjamin Biezeno Petrus Ferrandi (Peter of Spain) Hispanus Guarino da Verona Basilios Bessarion Elling Holst Universiteit van Amsterdam 1933 (h.c.) Université de Paris 1408 Mystras 1436 Robert Peer Siskind ??? Harvard 1925 (S.M.) Donald Oscar Pederson Rudiger Dornbusch Michael Leonidas Dertouzos Gary Bishop Stanford 1951 Chicago 1971 MIT 1964 UNC-Chapel Hill 1984 Adriaan J. van Wijngaarden John Duns Scotus Vittorino da Feltre Johannes Argyropoulos Axel Thue Technische Universiteit Delft 1945 Université de Paris Università di Padova 1416 Università di Padova 1444 Sheldon Shou-Lien Chang University of Christiania 1889 Purdue 1947 Arthur Richard Newton Andrew Bruce Abel Jerry Allen Hausman Stephen Ashley Ward Leonard McMillan, Jr. UC Berkeley 1978 MIT 1978 Oxford 1973 MIT 1974 UNC-Chapel Hill 1997 Edward L. Glaser Edsger Wybe Dijkstra Theodoros Gazes Thoralf Albert Skolem Dartmouth 1951 (A.B.) Universiteit van Amsterdam 1959 William of Ockham Marsilio Ficino Cristoforo Landino Constantinople Kenneth Steiglitz Universitetet i Oslo 1926 Oxford 1321 (unfinished) Università di Firenze 1462 ??? NYU 1963 Srinivas Devadas Andrew W.
    [Show full text]
  • Jeffrey H. Chuang
    Jeffrey H. Chuang Office Address Home Address University of California – San Francisco 470 Warren Drive 600 16th Street Apt. # 201 San Francisco, CA 94143-2240 San Francisco, CA 94131 (415) 514-2616 [email protected] education MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Cambridge, MA Ph.D. in Physics (2001). Thesis title: Energy and Topology of Heteropolymers. HARVARD UNIVERSITY Cambridge, MA B.A. summa cum laude in Chemistry & Physics (1996). awards National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Informatics (2003-2005). National Institutes of Health Biochemistry Postdoctoral Fellowship (2001-2002). National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship (1997-1999). MIT Karl Taylor Compton Graduate Fellowship (1996-1997). Phi Beta Kappa, Harvard University (1996). professional Member of the International Society for Computational Biology. associations Member of the American Physical Society. Member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Member of Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society. Reviewer for the Journal of Chemical Physics. research UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DEPT. OF BIOCHEMISTRY & BIOPHYSICS San Francisco, CA experience Postdoctoral Fellow - Computational studies on a number of problems in comparative genomics and gene regulation. Advisor: Hao Li (2001- Present). Showed that selection affects the location of genes within mammalian genomes, and that genes are optimized for their mutational environment within the genome. Studied substitution patterns in yeast to show that the mutation rate is uniform genome-wide. Analyzed sequence conservation in yeast promoters to estimate the total amount of non-coding functional sequence in yeast, both genome-wide and in each promoter. Identified the yeast genes which are likely to be under the strongest or weakest transcriptional regulation.
    [Show full text]
  • Julius Adams Stratton 1901—1994
    NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES JULIUS ADAMS STRATTON 1 9 0 1 — 1 9 9 4 A Biographical Memoir by PAUL E. GRAY Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. Biographical Memoir COPYRIGHT 2007 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES WASHINGTON, D.C. MIT Museum JULIUS ADAMS STRATTON May 18, 1901–June 22, 1994 BY PAUL E . GRAY AY, AS HE WAS KNOWN by nearly all who worked with him, Jserved the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Radia- tion Laboratory at MIT, the federal government, the National Academies, and the Ford Foundation during his long and productive life. His work at MIT, as a member of the faculty and subsequently as provost, chancellor, and president, was vital to the development of both research and education during periods of rapid growth and change at MIT. EARLY YEARS Stratton was born on May 18, 1901, in Seattle, Wash- ington. His father, Julius A. Stratton, was an attorney who founded a law firm well known and respected throughout the northwest; later he became a judge. His mother, Laura Adams Stratton, was an accomplished pianist. Following his father’s retirement in 1906, the family moved to Germany, where young Julius attended school through age nine and became fluent in German. In 1910 the family returned to Seattle, where he completed his public school education. Stratton came to MIT, with which he was associated for 74 years, as the result of an accident at sea and on the advice of a fellow student.
    [Show full text]
  • The Inauguration of William Vermillion Houston, As President of the Rice
    Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from LYRASIS members and Sloan Foundation funding http://www.archive.org/details/inaugurationofwiOOhous THE INAUGURATION OF WILLIAM VERMILLION HOUSTON The Inauguration of William Vermillion Houston As President of The Rice Institute On April Tenth^ Nineteen Hundred and Forty-seven THE RICE INSTITUTE HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A. MCMXLVII INAUGURATION CEREMONY IN THE COURT OF THE CHEMISTRY LABORATORIES AT ELEVEN o'CLOCK IN THE MORNING PROGRAM DR. EDGAR ODELL LOVETT, PRESIDENT EMERITUS, PRESIDING PROCESSION VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS CHOIR OF TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH INVOCATION THE REV. DR. A. FRANK SMITH BISHOP OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH ADDRESS: "DYNAMIC EDUCATION" DR. KARL TAYLOR COMPTON PRESIDENT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCTION OF THE PRESIDENT MR. HARRY CAROTHERS WIESS VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES RESPONSE PRESIDENT HOUSTON AMERICA CHOIR AND ASSEMBLY BENEDICTION BISHOP SMITH RECESSION [5] LUNCHEON IN THE COMMONS FOR THE OFFICIAL DELEGATES AND THE RICE INSTITUTE FACULTY AT ONE o'clock DR. HAROLD ALBERT WILSON, PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS, PRESIDING ADDRESS: "MEN WANTED" DR. LEE ALVIN DuBRIDGE PRESIDENT OF THE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY RECEPTION FOR DELEGATES AND INVITED GUESTS IN COHEN HOUSE ON THE CAMPUS AT FOUR-THIRTY [6] DINNER IN HONOR OF PRESIDENT AND MRS. HOUSTON For Official Delegates and Invited Guests IN THE CRYSTAL BALLROOM OF THE RICE HOTEL AT SEVEN o'clock MR. GEORGE RUFUS BROWN, VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, TOASTMASTER GRACE THE REV. DR. CHARLES LEONIDAS KING PASTOR OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ADDRESSES "Lone Star and Constellation" DR. DIXON WECTER CHAIRMAN OF THE RESEARCH GROUP THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY, SAN MARINO, CALIFORNIA On Behalf of the Alumni MR.
    [Show full text]
  • Dean, School of Engineering
    Dean, School of Engineering The School of Engineering encompasses a community of some of the world’s brightest minds and most inventive thinkers—about 60 percent of MIT’s undergraduate majors‚ about 45 percent of MIT graduate students‚ and over one‐third of the Institute’s faculty. Third‐party ratings routinely rank the School of Engineering first in the nation, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. During AY2004‚ the School continued efforts in several major initiatives that underscore its commitment to shaping engineering education and research. This report presents selected highlights of significant achievements. It also includes information on outreach, notable awards and events‚ organizational updates, personnel changes‚ and school statistics. The reports of the School’s departments‚ divisions‚ laboratories‚ centers‚ and programs provide additional information about their activities over the past year. Continuing Initiatives The School strives to address the societal challenges of the 21st century through leadership anchored in technical excellence and innovation. It has identified seven programmatic themes for special emphasis, toward which continuing efforts were directed this year: • Biological engineering • Information engineering (information, computation, and communication) • Engineering systems • Tiny technologies (miniaturization, microtechnologies, and nanotechnologies) • Emerging technologies • Innovations in education that include the use of new technologies • Increasing diversity within the School, particularly among the faculty The “Big Four Os” We often refer to the first four of these initiatives colloquially as the “Big Four Os” (bio‐, info‐, macro‐, nano‐). Selecting noteworthy accomplishments in these four areas, the school highlights the following: • Bio‐: In December the MIT Faculty unanimously voted to create a new undergraduate degree (SB) in chemical engineering (10‐B chemical‐biological engineering) and in February endorsed the creation of an Institute‐wide PhD program in computational and systems biology.
    [Show full text]
  • VANNEVAR BUSH March 11,1890-June 28,1974
    NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES V ANNEVAR BUSH 1890—1974 A Biographical Memoir by JEROME B. WIESNER Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. Biographical Memoir COPYRIGHT 1979 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES WASHINGTON D.C. VANNEVAR BUSH March 11,1890-June 28,1974 BY JEROME B. WIESNER o AMERICAN has had greater influence in the growth of N science and technology than Vannevar Bush, and the twentieth century may yet not produce his equal. He was an ingenious engineer and an imaginative educator, but above all he was a statesman of integrity and creative ability. He orga- nized and led history's greatest research program during World War II and, with a profound understanding of implications for the future, charted the course of national policy during the years that followed. The grandson of two sea captains, "Van" Bush manifested his Cape Cod heritage in a salty, independent, forthright per- sonality. He was a man of strong opinions, which he expressed and applied with vigor, yet he stood in awe of the mysteries of nature, had a warm tolerance for human frailty, and was open- minded to change and to new solutions to problems. He was pragmatic, yet had the imagination and sensitivity of a poet, and was steadily optimistic. These essential qualities speak clearly in the foreword which he wrote in January 1970 for his book of reminiscences, Pieces of the Action: In my time, it has been my good fortune to have a piece of the action here and there in varied circumstances.
    [Show full text]