American physicist
Burton Richter (March 22, 1931 – July 18, 2018)[ 3] [ 4] Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) team which co-discovered theJ/ψ meson in 1974, alongside theBrookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) team led bySamuel Ting for which they wonNobel Prize for Physics in 1976. This discovery was part of theNovember Revolution of particle physics. He was the SLAC director from 1984 to 1999.
A native ofNew York City , Richter was born into aJewish [ 5] Brooklyn , and was raised in theQueens neighborhood ofFar Rockaway .[ 6] [ 7] Far Rockaway High School , a school that also produced fellow laureatesBaruch Samuel Blumberg andRichard Feynman .[ 8] Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, then continued on to study at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology , where he received his bachelor's degree in 1952 and his PhD in 1956. He then joined the faculty ofStanford University , becoming a full professor in 1967.[ 9] Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) from 1984 to 1999. He was a senior fellow of theFreeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Paul Pigott Professor in the Physical Sciences Emeritus of Stanford University.[ 10]
As a professor at Stanford, Richter designed theSPEAR (Stanford Positron-Electron Asymmetric Ring)particle accelerator with the help of another Stanford physics professor,David Ritson .[ 11] U.S. Atomic Energy Commission . With it he led a team that discovered a newsubatomic particle he called aψ (psi ). This discovery was also made by the team led bySamuel Ting atBrookhaven National Laboratory , but he called the particleJ . The particle thus became known as theJ/ψ meson . Richter and Ting were jointly awarded the 1976Nobel Prize in Physics for their work.[ 6]
During 1975 Richter spent a sabbatical year atCERN where he worked on theISR experiment R702.[ 12]
In 1987, Richter received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement .[ 13]
Richter was a member of theJASON advisory group and served on the board of directors ofScientists and Engineers for America , an organization focused on promoting sound science inAmerican government .[ 10]
Richter was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 2003.[ 14]
In May 2007, he visitedIran andSharif University of Technology .[ 15]
Richter is one of the 20 American recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics to sign a letter addressed to PresidentGeorge W. Bush in May 2008, urging him to "reverse the damage done to basic science research in the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill" by requesting additional emergency funding for theDepartment of Energy ’sOffice of Science , theNational Science Foundation , and theNational Institute of Standards and Technology .[ 16]
In 2012, PresidentBarack Obama announced that Burton Richter was a co-recipient of theEnrico Fermi Award , along withMildred Dresselhaus .[ 10]
In 2014, President Obama also awarded Richter the 2012National Medal of Science . His citation read, "For pioneering contributions to the development of electron accelerators, including circular and linear colliders, synchrotron light sources, and for discoveries in elementary particle physics and contributions to energy policy."[ 17] [ 18]
In 2013, Richter commented on an open letter fromTom Wigley ,Kerry Emanuel ,Ken Caldeira , andJames Hansen , thatAngela Merkel was "wrong to shut down nuclear".[ 19]
In 2014, Richter was among the residents of a continuing care retirement center who filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against a continuing care retirement home's financial practices.[ 20] [ 21]
Richter died on July 18, 2018, inStanford, California , at the age 87.
^ Burton Richter (1956).Photoproduction of Positive Pions from Hydrogen by 265 MEV Gamma Rays (PDF) (Thesis). Archived fromthe original (PDF) on 2014-02-27. Retrieved2014-02-20 . ^ "PDS login" .library.mit.edu .^ Weil, Martin (21 July 2018)."Obituaries - Burton Richter, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, dies at 87" .The Washington Post . Retrieved15 September 2019 . ^ "Nobel Prize-winning physicist Burton Richter dies at 87" .Stanford News (Press release). Stanford News. 2018-07-19. Retrieved2018-07-20 .^ Shalev, Baruch A. (2002).100 Years of Nobel Prizes . The Americas Group. p. 61.ISBN 978-0-935047-37-0 ^a b Crease, Robert P.; Mann, Charles C. (October 26, 1986)."In Search of the Z Particle" .The New York Times . Retrieved2007-10-02 .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 the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved2007-10-02 .Burton Richter graduated from Far Rockaway High School in 1948. ^ "Burton Richter | American physicist" .Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved2019-09-15 .^a b c "President Obama Names Scientists Mildred Dresselhaus and Burton Richter as the Enrico Fermi Award Winners" . January 11, 2012.^ Peter C. Allen (Winter 1980)."Deeper and Deeper into the Atom" (PDF) .Sandstone and Tile .4 (2). Stanford Historical Society. Retrieved15 September 2019 . ^ Chalmers, Matthew (August 15, 2018)."Burton Richter (1931-2018)" . RetrievedAugust 20, 2018 . ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement" .www.achievement.org .American Academy of Achievement .^ "APS Member History" .search.amphilsoc.org . Retrieved2021-06-22 .^ Erdbrink, Thomas (June 6, 2008)."Iran makes the sciences a part of its revolution" .The Washington Post . RetrievedApril 27, 2010 . ^ "A Letter from America's Physics Nobel Laureates" (PDF) .^ "Burton Richter, 2012 National Medal of Science, Physical Sciences" .National Science & Technology Medal Foundation . 2019. Retrieved15 Sep 2019 .^ SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (2014-11-20),President Obama Bestows National Medal of Science on SLAC Director Emeritus and Nobelist Burton Richter , retrieved2019-09-15 ^ "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. Text .^ "RICHTER v. CC-PALO ALTO, | Case No. 5:14... | 20141125f09 | Leagle.com" .Leagle . Retrieved2019-09-15 .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 atStanford University ,Princeton University ,United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency theAtomic 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 theAtomic 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 theAtomic 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 Burton Richter on Nobelprize.orgFrom the Psi to Charm – The Experiments of 1975 and 1976 The Nobel Prize in Physics 1976 Richter Burton , Nobel Luminaries Project,The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot SLAC Flickr album Historical photos of Burton Richter NIF Secretary of Energy Board Honoring Burton Richter at APS April 2019Persis Drell, Vera Luth, and Maury Tigner, "Burton Richter", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2022) Oral History Interview with Burton Richter by Elizabeth Paris, 1996 July 15, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives Preceded by SLAC DirectorSucceeded by
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1899–1925 1926–1950 1951–1975 1976–2000 2001–
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