Floyd Karker Richtmyer | |
|---|---|
 Floyd K. Richtmyer, 1928 | |
| Born | (1881 -10-12)October 12, 1881 |
| Died | November 7, 1939(1939-11-07) (aged 58) |
| Alma mater | Cornell University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
Floyd Karker Richtmyer (October 12, 1881 – November 7, 1939) was aphysicist and educator in theUnited States.
Richtmyer was born October 12, 1881, in the rural community ofCobleskill, New York.[1] He studied withPerley Nutting atCornell University; both were students of Edward L. Nichols. Richtmyer graduated with his A.B. in 1904 and Ph.D. in 1910.
Richtmyer taught physics atDrexel University but returned to Cornell as an instructor in 1906, where he remained for the duration of his career. He became assistant professor of physics in 1911, full professor in 1918, and then dean of the graduate school in 1931.[2] He also taught summer classes at theUniversity of California, Berkeley,Stanford University, andColumbia University.[3]
When theJournal of theOptical Society of America (JOSA) began in 1917, Richtmyer wrote the very first article, on page 1 of volume 1, titled "Opportunities for Research."[4] In 1918 and 1919, he served as OSA’s vice president, and president in 1920. In 1928, he published a very popular textbookIntroduction to Modern Physics.[5]
Richtmyer is one of the founders of theAcoustical Society of America (ASA).[6] with other renowned acousticians, at theBell headquarters in New York City, on December 27, 1928.[7] In 1933, he succeeded Paul Foote as editor ofJOSA, and he served until his death. He published eleven articles inJOSA, mostly between 1922 and 1929.[8]
Richtmyer was an honorary member ofSigma Pi Sigma the physics honors society.[9] He was elected a member of the United StatesNational Academy of Sciences in 1932[10] and a member of both theAmerican Philosophical Society and theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1935.[11][12]
In 1929 he was awarded the Louis E. Levy Medal of theFranklin Institute for the study ofX-rays.[13]
TheAmerican Association of Physics Teachers, which he had helped form, established theRichtmyer Memorial Award, which is conferred annually and is typically given to educators who have made outstanding contributions as teachers in their fields. It is awarded to those who have not only produced important current research in physics but to those who have, by means of communication to both students and other educators, imparted information and motivation to participants in the field. Winners deliver the Richtmyer Memorial Lecture.[14]
His sonRobert Davis Richtmyer was also a physicist and mathematician. He had a daughter Sarah R. Richtmyer who married John T. Mann, and another son Lawson E. Richtmyer.[1]
He died from acoronary thrombosis on November 7, 1939.[3]
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