Robert Hofstadter
American physicist, Nobel laureate for electron scattering studies.
Last updated
Hofstadter died at his home on the Stanford campus on November 17, 1990, at age 75.[1] Robert Hofstadter, a physicist from the United States, was born on February 5, 1915, in New York City to parents who were Polish Jewish immigrants.[2][3][4] For his work using electron scattering to investigate atomic nuclei and determine the structure of nucleons, Hofstadter jointly received the 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics.[5][4]
Life and work
His doctoral dissertation was titled "Infra-red absorption by light and heavy formic and acetic acids."[6] In 1948 he discovered that thallium-activated sodium iodide made an excellent scintillation counter, which he considered his most important contribution to science.[1] He joined Stanford University in 1950 at the urging of Felix Bloch and Leonard Schiff.[1] Hofstadter taught at Stanford from 1950 to 1985 and was recalled to active duty every year after retirement until his death.[7][1]
He coined the term "fermi" (symbol fm) in a 1956 paper published in Reviews of Modern Physics.[8] In 1970 he introduced the idea of a large high-energy gamma-ray detector for satellite-based gamma-ray astronomy.[1] Hofstadter helped design, build, and test the EGRET experiment on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.[1][9] Hofstadter completed a B.S. magna cum laude at City College of New York in 1935 and obtained his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1938, when he was 23 years old.[2][6]
In 1942 Hofstadter married Nancy Givan; the couple had three children, one of whom, Douglas Hofstadter, won a Pulitzer Prize.[10][4]
What the cited sources add
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported in 1961 that Hofstadter was named California's "scientist of the year" in 1959.[3] The same source noted he was cited for determining the most precise measurement of the structure of the neutron and proton.[3] The NNDB biography states his work redefined scientific understanding by showing that subatomic particles have size, shape, and structure.[4] The Stanford account also notes he had a lifelong interest in applying gamma-ray detectors to problems in medical physics.[1]
According to an account from the physics department at Stanford, Hofstadter later regarded his NaI(Tl) discovery as his most significant scientific contribution.[1] The U.S. National Medal of Science was awarded to Hofstadter in 1986, as noted by the Stanford physics department.[1] In 1993, the physics department at Stanford University initiated the Robert Hofstadter Memorial Lecture series.[1]
References
- "Robert Hofstadter", Stanford University Department of Physics. facts only, no text reused. physics.stanford.edu
- Wikipedia, "Robert Hofstadter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dr. Robert Hofstadter, U.S. Jewish Scientist, Wins 1961 Nobel Prize", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 3, 1961; "Robert Hofstadter biography", NNDB; "Guide to the Robert Hofstadter Papers" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Dr. Robert Hofstadter, U.S. Jewish Scientist, Wins 1961 Nobel Prize", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 3, 1961. facts only, no text reused. jta.org
- "Robert Hofstadter biography", NNDB. facts only, no text reused. nndb.com
- Wikipedia, "Robert Hofstadter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: including his Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1961 The Electron-Scattering Method and Its Application to the Structure of Nuclei and Nucleons (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert Hofstadter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Robert Hofstadter biography", 2001; Hofstadter, "Infra-red absorption by light and heavy formic and acetic acids", Princeton, 1938 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert Hofstadter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Robert Hofstadter", Stanford University Department of Physics (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert Hofstadter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "American National Standard for Metric Practice", IEEE, April 11, 2011, p. 78; Hofstadter, Robert, department of physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, "Electron Scattering and Nuclear Structure" , Rev. Mod. Phys. 28, 214–254 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert Hofstadter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Hofstadter Memorial Lectures", Stanford University (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert Hofstadter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Obituary to Nancy Givan from Stanford University, 2007.; "Douglas Hofstadter's autobiography"; National Academy of Sciences biography (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Robert Hofstadter (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Physicists And Chemists Of The 20Th Century
Related in Physicists And Chemists Of The 20Th Century
Links follow this subject's own source article.
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Robert Hofstadter (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced