Burton Richter
Burton Richter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 22, 1931 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 18, 2018 (aged 87) Stanford, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | MIT |
| Known for | J/ψ meson |
| Spouse(s) | Laurose Becker (m. 1960; 2 children) |
| Awards | E. O. Lawrence Award (1975) Nobel Prize in Physics (1976) Enrico Fermi Award (2010) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Stanford University Stanford Linear Accelerator Center |
| Doctoral advisor | Bernard T. Feld[1][2] |
Burton Richter (March 22, 1931 – July 18, 2018)[3][4] was an American physicist. He led the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) team which co-discovered the J/ψ meson in 1974, alongside the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) team led by Samuel Ting for which they won Nobel Prize for Physics in 1976. This discovery was part of the so-called November Revolution of particle physics. He was the SLAC director from 1984 to 1999.
Life and work[edit]
A native of New York City, Richter was born into a Jewish[5] family in Brooklyn, and was raised in the Queens neighborhood of Far Rockaway.[6] His parents were Fanny (Pollack) and Abraham Richter, a textile worker.[7] He graduated from Far Rockaway High School, a school that also produced fellow laureates Baruch Samuel Blumberg and Richard Feynman.[8] He attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, then continued on to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1952 and his PhD in 1956. He was director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) from 1984 to 1999.
As a professor at Stanford University, Richter built a particle accelerator called SPEAR (Stanford Positron-Electron Asymmetric Ring) with the help of David Ritson[citation needed] and the support of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. With it he led a team that discovered a new subatomic particle he called a ψ (psi). This discovery was also made by the team led by Samuel Ting at Brookhaven National Laboratory, but he called the particle J. The particle thus became known as the J/ψ meson. Richter and Ting were jointly awarded the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work.
During 1975 Richter spent a sabbatical year at CERN where he worked on the ISR experiment R702.[9]
Richter was a member of the JASON advisory group and served on the board of directors of Scientists and Engineers for America, an organization focused on promoting sound science in American government.[10]
In May 2007, he visited Iran and Sharif University of Technology.[11]
In 2012, President Barack Obama announced that Burton Richter was a co-recipient of the Enrico Fermi Award, along with Mildred Dresselhaus.[10]
In 2013, Richter commented on an open letter from Tom Wigley, Kerry Emanuel, Ken Caldeira, and James Hansen, that Angela Merkel was "wrong to shut down nuclear".[12]
In 2014, Richter was among the residents of a continuing care retirement center filing a lawsuit alleging refundable entrance fees were sent out of state. This may be the first legal complaint challenging a continuing care retirement home's financial practices.[13][14][15] At a hearing on September 9, 2014 in Federal Court, attorneys allege Richter read the contracts, saw significant problems, and is entitled to pursue a legal judgement concerning the use of his money.[16]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Burton Richter (1956). Photoproduction of Positive Pions from Hydrogen by 265 MEV Gamma Rays (PDF) (Thesis). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-27. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
- ^ "PDS login". library.mit.edu.
- ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/burton-richter-nobel-prize-winning-physicist-dies-at-87/2018/07/21/a0baaede-8c8c-11e8-a345-a1bf7847b375_story.html
- ^ University, Stanford (2018-07-19). "Nobel Prize-winning physicist Burton Richter dies at 87". Stanford News (Press release). Stanford News. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
- ^ Shalev, Baruch A. (2002). 100 Years of Nobel Prizes. The Americas Group. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-935047-37-0
- ^
Crease, Robert P.; Mann, Charles C. (October 26, 1986). "In Search of the Z Particle". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
Burton Richter was born in Brooklyn 55 years ago, but grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens.
- ^ "Burton Richter facts, information, pictures - Encyclopedia.com articles about Burton Richter". www.encyclopedia.com.
- ^
Schwach, Howard (April 15, 2005). "Museum tracks down FRHS Nobel laureates". The Wave. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
Burton Richter graduated from Far Rockaway High School in 1948.
- ^ Chalmers, Matthew (August 15, 2018). "Burton Richter (1931-2018)". Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ a b "President Obama Names Scientists Mildred Dresselhaus and Burton Richter as the Enrico Fermi Award Winners". January 11, 2012.
- ^ Erdbrink, Thomas (June 6, 2008). "Iran makes the sciences a part of its revolution". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
- ^ "Environmental scientists tout nuclear power to avert climate change - CNN.com". CNN. November 3, 2013.
- ^ Burton Richter, Linda Collins Cork, Georgia L. May, Thomas Merigan, Alfred Spivack, Janice R. Anderson v. CC-Palo Alto, Inc. (United States District Court for the Northern District of California). Text
- ^ Jason Green (2014-02-20). "Residents sue Palo Alto retirement community for 'up-streaming' $190 million". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
- ^ KTVU (Feb 19, 2014). "Residents file suit against high-end Palo Alto seniors home". Cox Media Group Television. Archived from the original on 2014-02-24. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
- ^ Sue Dreman (Sep 12, 2014). "Vi seniors take case to federal court". Retrieved 2014-11-08.
Publications[edit]
- Barber, W. C.; Richter, B.; Panofsky, W. K. H.; O'Neill, G. K. & B. Gittelman. "An Experiment on the Limits of Quantum Electro-dynamics", High-Energy Physics Laboratory at Stanford University, Princeton University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), Office of Naval Research, (June 1959).
- Richter, B. "Design Considerations for High Energy Electron – Positron Storage Rings", Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (November 1966).
- Boyarski, A. M.; Coward, D.; Ecklund, S.; Richter, B.; Sherden, D.; Siemann, R. & C. Sinclair. "Inclusive Yields of pi{sup +}, pi{sup -}, K{sup +}, and K{sup -} from H{sub 2} Photoproduced at 18 GeV at Forward Angles", Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (1971).
- Richter, B. "Total Hadron Cross Section, New Particles, and Muon Electron Events in e{sup +}e{sup -} Annihilation at SPEAR", Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA)), (January 1976).
- Richter, B. "Forty-five Years of e{sup +}e{sup -} Annihilation Physics: 1956 to 2001", Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, United States Department of Energy, (August 1984).
- Richter, B. "Charting the Course for Elementary Particle Physics", Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, United States Department of Energy, (February 16, 2007).
- Richter, B. Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Climate Changes and Energy in the 21st Century. Second Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2014. ISBN 978-1-107-67372-4
External links[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Burton Richter. |
- Nobelprize.org autobiography
- Nobel Lecture (PDF format)
- The Nobel Prize in Physics 1976
- Richter Burton, Nobel Luminaries Project, The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot
- SLAC press image
- NIF Secretary of Energy Board
- A Celebration Honoring Burton Richter SLAC image gallery
| Preceded by Wolfgang Panofsky |
SLAC Director 1984–1999 |
Succeeded by Jonathan M. Dorfan |
- 1931 births
- 2018 deaths
- Nobel laureates in Physics
- American Nobel laureates
- Enrico Fermi Award recipients
- Members of the American Physical Society
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- Members of JASON
- Stanford University SLAC faculty
- Jewish American scientists
- Jewish physicists
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
- Mercersburg Academy alumni
- American people of German-Jewish descent
- Far Rockaway High School alumni
- People from Far Rockaway, Queens
- 21st-century physicists
- 20th-century American physicists
- 21st-century American scientists
- People associated with CERN
- Scientists from New York (state)
