American nuclear physicist (1911–1995)
William Alfred Fowler (August 9, 1911 – March 14, 1995)[ 1] astrophysicist . He shared the 1983Nobel Prize in Physics "for his theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe ."[ 2] [ 3] Margaret andGeoffrey Burbidge andFred Hoyle , he authored the influential B2 FH paper,Synthesis of the Elements in Stars
On 9 August 1911, Fowler was born inPittsburgh . Fowler's parents were John MacLeod Fowler and Jennie Summers Watson. Fowler was the eldest of his siblings, Arthur and Nelda.[ 3]
The family moved toLima, Ohio , a steam railroad town, when Fowler was two years old. Growing up near thePennsylvania Railroad yard influenced Fowler's interest in locomotives. In 1973, he travelled to theSoviet Union just to observe the steam engine that powered theTrans-Siberian Railway plying the nearly 2,500-kilometre (1,600 mi) route that connectsKhabarovsk andMoscow .[ 4]
In 1933, Fowler graduated from theOhio State University , where he was a member of theTau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. In 1936, Fowler received a Ph.D. innuclear physics from theCalifornia Institute of Technology inPasadena, California .[ 5] [ 6]
Fowler's Los Alamos badge In 1936, Fowler became a research fellow at Caltech. He was elected to the United StatesNational Academy of Sciences in 1938.[ 7] [ 5]
Although an experimental nuclear physicist, Fowler's most famous paper was his collaboration with Margaret and Geoffrey Burbidge,Synthesis of the Elements in Stars Margaret Burbidge was first author, her husbandGeoffrey Burbidge second, Fowler third, and Cambridge cosmologistFred Hoyle fourth. That 1957 paper in Reviews of Modern Physics[ 8] chemical elements in stars. It is widely known as theB2 FH paper . Though the theory of Stellar Nucleosynthesis established in the paper was later cited by the Nobel Committee as the reason for Fowler's 1983 Nobel in Physics, neither any of the Burbidges nor Hoyle shared in the award.
In 1942, Fowler became an associate professor at Caltech. In 1946, Fowler became a Professor at Caltech.[ 5] Lee A. DuBridge ,Max Mason ,Linus Pauling , andBruce H. Sage , was awarded theMedal for Merit in 1948 by PresidentHarry S. Truman .[ 9]
Fowler succeededCharles Lauritsen as director of theW. K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory atCaltech , and was himself later succeeded bySteven E. Koonin . Fowler was awarded the National Medal of Science by PresidentGerald Ford .[ 10]
Fowler was Guggenheim Fellow atSt John's College, Cambridge in 1962–63. He was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1962,[ 11] Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of theAmerican Astronomical Society in 1963, elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1965,[ 12] Vetlesen Prize in 1973, theEddington Medal in 1978, theBruce Medal of theAstronomical Society of the Pacific in 1979, and theNobel Prize in Physics in 1983 (shared withSubrahmanyan Chandrasekhar ) for his theoretical and experimental studies of thenuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe .[ 13] [ 14]
Fowler's doctoral students at Caltech includedDonald D. Clayton .[ 15]
A lifelong fan ofsteam locomotives , Fowler owned several working models of various sizes.[ 16]
Fowler's first wife was Adriane Fay (née Olmsted) Fowler. They had two daughters, Mary Emily and Martha.[ 17]
In December 1989, Fowler married Mary Dutcher, an artist, in Pasadena, California.[ 17] Pasadena, California . He was 83.[ 18]
Fowler, W.A.;Lauritsen, C.C (1949-05-26)."Gamma radiation from light nuclei under proton bombardment" (PDF) .Physical Review 73 (2):314– 315.Bibcode :1948PhRv...73..181F .doi :10.1103/physrev.73.181.2 .Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-08. Cook, C.W.; Fowler, W.A.;Lauritsen, C.C. ; Lauritsen, T. (1957-07-15)."B12 , C12 and the Red Hot Giants" Physical Review 107 (2): 508.Bibcode :1957PhRv..107..508C .doi :10.1103/physrev.107.508 . Clayton, D.D ; Fowler, W.A; Hull, T.E; Zimmerman, B.A. (1961-03-01)."Neutron capture chains in heavy element synthesis" Annals of Physics 12 (3):331– 408.Bibcode :1961AnPhy..12..331C .doi :10.1016/0003-4916(61)90067-7 .ISSN 0003-4916 .Burbidge, E. M. ;Burbidge, G. R. ; Fowler, W. A.;Hoyle, F. (1957)."Synthesis of the Elements in Stars" .Reviews of Modern Physics 29 (4):547– 650.Bibcode :1957RvMP...29..547B .doi :10.1103/RevModPhys.29.547 ISSN 0034-6861 .LCCN 31021290 .OCLC 5975699 .Fowler, W. A. (June 1958).Temperature and Density Conditions for Nucleogenesis by Fusion Processes in Stars .W. K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory .doi :10.2172/4308210 .OSTI 4308210 . Seeger, P. A.; Fowler, W. A.;Clayton, Donald D. (1965)."Nucleosynthesis of heavy elements by neutron capture" .Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 11 :121– 166.Bibcode :1965ApJS...11..121S .doi :10.1086/190111 .Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved2022-03-21 . Bodansky, D.;Clayton, Donald D. ; Fowler, W.A. (1968-01-22)."Nucleosynthesis during silicon burning" Physical Review Letters 20 (4):161– 164.Bibcode :1968PhRvL..20..161B .doi :10.1103/physrevlett.20.161 .Archived from the original on 2021-07-23. Retrieved2022-03-21 . Holmes, J.A.;Woosley, S.E. ; Fowler, W.A.; Zimmerman, B.A. (1976)."Tables of thermonuclear-reaction-rate for neutron-induced reactions on heavy nuclei" Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables 18 : 305.Bibcode :1976ADNDT..18..305H .doi :10.1016/0092-640x(76)90011-5 . Caughlan, G.R. ; Fowler, W.A.; Zimmerman, B.A. (September 1975)."Thermonuclear reaction rates, II" Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 13 :69– 112.Bibcode :1975ARA&A..13...69F .doi :10.1146/annurev.aa.13.090175.000441 .Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved2022-03-21 .^ Dicke, William (March 16, 1995)."William A. Fowler, Astrophysicist, Dies" .The New York Times ^ The other half went to The other half went toSubrahmanyan Chandrasekhar "for his theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars.""The Nobel Prize in Physics 1983" .Nobel Foundation .Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved9 October 2008 . ^a b Oakes, Elizabeth (2007).Encyclopedia of World Scientists, Revised Edition New York City :Facts on File . p. 245.ISBN 9780816061587 LCCN 2007006076 . Retrieved2022-03-21 – viaInternet Archive . ^ Sidharth, B. G., ed. (2008).A century of ideas: perspectives from leading scientists of the 20th century Dordrecht :Springer . p. 19.ISBN 978-1-4020-4359-8 LCCN 2008923553 . Retrieved2022-03-21 – viaInternet Archive . ^a b c "William Alfred Fowler Biography" .Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory Archived from the original on 2016-07-02. Retrieved2019-07-21 .^ Carey, Charles W. (2006).American scientists New York City :Facts on File . p. 120.ISBN 978-0-8160-5499-2 LCCN 2005000683 . Retrieved2022-03-21 – viaInternet Archive . ^ "Alfred Fowler" .www.nasonline.org . Retrieved2022-11-16 .^ Burbidge, E. M. ;Burbidge, G. R. ; Fowler, W. A.;Hoyle, F. (1957)."Synthesis of the Elements in Stars" .Reviews of Modern Physics 29 (4):547– 650.Bibcode :1957RvMP...29..547B .doi :10.1103/RevModPhys.29.547 ISSN 0034-6861 .LCCN 31021290 .OCLC 5975699 .^ "Presidential Medal for Merit. February 2, 1948. - Published Papers and Official Documents - Linus Pauling and the International Peace Movement" .Oregon State University Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved2022-02-26 .^ "Photo Archive in Nuclear Astrophysics" .Clemson University Archived from the original on 2018-01-29. Retrieved2022-03-21 .^ "APS Member History" .search.amphilsoc.org . Retrieved2022-11-16 .^ "William Alfred Fowler" .American Academy of Arts & Sciences . Retrieved2022-11-16 .^ "William Alfred Fowler" .Sonoma State University Archived from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved2022-03-21 .^ "William A. Fowler - Facts" .Nobel Prize . Retrieved2019-07-14 .^ "Donald D. Clayton" .Caltech Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved2022-03-21 .^ "Photo Archive in Nuclear Astrophysics" .Clemson University Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved2022-03-21 .^a b Written atAuburn, Maine ."Obituary: Mary Ditcher Fowler" .Lewiston Sun Journal Lewiston, Maine . 2019-07-13.OCLC 1058326012 .Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved2019-07-21 . ^ Dicke, William (1995-03-16)."William A. Fowler, 83, Astrophysicist, Dies" The New York Times ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved2019-07-14 . Oral history interview transcript with William Fowler on 8 June 1972, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives - Session IOral history interview transcript with William Fowler on 9 June 1972, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives - Session IIOral history interview transcript with William Fowler on 5 February 1973, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives - Session IIIOral history interview transcript with William Fowler on 6 February 1973, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives - Session IVOral history interview transcript with William Fowler on 30 May 1974, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives - Session V1983 Audio Interview with William Fowler by Martin Sherwin Voices of the Manhattan ProjectW.A. Fowler:Radioactive elements of a low atomic number , Ph.D. dissertation William Alfred Fowler on Nobelprize.orgExperimental and Theoretical Nuclear Astrophysics; the Quest for the Origin of the Elements Guide to the Papers of William A. Fowler, 1917-1994 Caughlan and Fowler 1988: THERMONUCLEAR REACTION RATES ,Oak Ridge National Laboratory Interview with William A. Fowler Archived 2015-03-07 at theWayback Machine , Caltech Archives Oral Histories Online
1901–1925 1926–1950 1951–1975 1976–2000 2001–
1899–1925 1926–1950 1951–1975 1976–2000 2001–
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