Edwin Albrecht Uehling
Edwin Albrecht Uehling | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 18 March 1985 (aged 84) |
Alma mater | University of Michigan |
Known for | Uehling potential Senko–Uehling–Schmidt theory |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Quantum field theory |
Institutions | University of Washington |
Doctoral advisor | George Uhlenbeck |
Edwin Albrecht Uehling (January 27, 1901 – May 18, 1985)[1] was an American theoretical physicist known for the formulation of the Uehling potential to describe vacuum polarization in quantum electrodynamics. He also worked in condensed matter physics, particularly in the field of ferroelectricity.
Life
After his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1925, he worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories in radio frequency communication, where he wrote several patents. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan in 1932 on the quantum theory of transport processes,[2] advised by George Uhlenbeck.[3][4] His research lead to his famous paper on vacuum polarization and the formulation of the now-called Uehling potential.[2][5][6] As described by Uehling theory, the effects of vacuum polarization were later confirmed with the discovery of the Lamb shift in 1947.[7]
After his PhD he left for a ten-month collaboration with
During World War II, Uehling was recruited as a member of the antisubmarine warfare operations research group of the Tenth Fleet. He was awarded the President's Certificate of Merit by the United States government in early 1947 for his scientific contributions to the team during the war.[2]
Uehling was also interested in
He worked in the
During post-war related tensions and the investigations of espionage related to the Manhattan Project, president of the University of Washington Henry Schmitz denied professorship to Oppenheimer in 1954.[12] Uehling, then the chairman of the physics department, tried various times to revert the president decision. Uehling appealed to the university senate with a speech on academic freedom.[12] The university committee ruled against the university president and Oppenheimer was allowed lectureship.[12] Schmitz later apologized to Oppenheimer in 1956.[2]
See also
References
- ISBN 978-3-540-44029-1.
- ^ ISSN 0031-9228.
- ^ "Uhlenbeck, George Eugène, 1900-1988". history.aip.org. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
- ISSN 0031-899X.
- .
- ISBN 978-1-107-03473-0.
- ISBN 978-1-107-03473-0.
- ^ Uehling, E.A. (1963). "Theories of Ferroelectricity in KH2PO4". Lecture in Theoretical Physics. 5. New York: 138–217.
- ISSN 0031-899X.
- ISSN 0031-899X.
- ^ "Edwin A. Uehling". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
- ^ JSTOR 40489791.
Notes
- ^ Named after Michael E. Senko, V. Hugo Schmidt and Uehling.