John N. Bahcall
John N. Bahcall | |
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Harvard University of Chicago |
John Norris Bahcall (December 30, 1934 – August 17, 2005) was an American
Early life and education
Bahcall was born into a Jewish family in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 30, 1934,[3] and would later describe an early aspiration to become a Reform rabbi.[4] He did not take science classes at high school.[1] In high school he was a state tennis champion[2] and a national debate champion (1952).[1]
Bahcall began his university studies at Louisiana State University as a philosophy student on a tennis scholarship, where he considered pursuing the rabbinate. At the end of his freshmen year, he transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, still studying philosophy.[1] He took his first physics class to fulfill a graduation science requirement, later saying:[5]
"It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but I fell in love with science. I was thrilled by the fact that by knowing physics you could figure out how real things worked, like sunsets and airplanes, and that after a while everyone agreed on what was the right answer to a question."[5]
Bahcall switched majors to physics, He spent a year as a research fellow in physics with Emil Konopinski at Indiana University. From 1962 to 1970, he worked with a group led by William Fowler at the Kellogg Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology,.[2] first as a research fellow and later as an Assistant and Associate Professor.[6]
Academic career
Bahcall joined the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey in 1968[7][1] becoming a professor of natural sciences in 1971 and the Richard Black Professor of Natural Sciences in 1997.[6]
Bahcall became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1976.[8] He was president of the American Astronomical Society from 1990–92,[5] and was president-elect of the American Physical Society at the date of his death.[9]
Research
Bahcall published over six hundred scientific papers[7] and wrote or edited nine books on astrophysics.[2] Bahcall is most notable for his work in establishing the
The 2002 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to Davis and Masatoshi Koshiba for their pioneering work in observing the neutrinos predicted from Bahcall's solar model, thereby vindicating Bahcall's prediction.[13][14]
In addition to his work on solar neutrinos, Bahcall collaborated with Eli Waxman on the
Another contribution of Bahcall to astrophysics was the development and implementation of the Hubble Space Telescope, in collaboration with Lyman Spitzer, Jr., from the 1970s through to the period after the telescope was launched in 1990.[2][1] In 1992, Bahcall received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for this work.[16][17] He reintroduced the traditional method of star counts, as a quantitative tool for assessing galactic structure. [18]
The standard model of a galaxy, with a massive
Personal life and death
Bahcall married
Honors
- 2006, Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (posthumous), NASA[16]
- 2004, Academy of Achievement, Golden Plate Award[19]
- 2004, National Academy of Sciences[20]
- 2003, Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society[21]
- 2003, Benjamin Franklin Medal (with Raymond Davis, Jr. and Masatoshi Koshiba)[22]
- 2003, Dan David Prize[23]
- 2003, Fermi Award (with Raymond Davis, Jr)[24]
- 2001, Member of the American Philosophical Society[25]
- 1999, Henry Norris Russell Lectureship[26]
- 1998, National Medal of Science[27]
- 1998, Hans Bethe Prize[28]
- 1994, Heineman Prize[29]
- 1992, NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, NASA[16]
- 1976, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences[30]
- 1970, Helen B. Warner Prize[31]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Tremaine, Scott D. (2011). "John Norris Bahcall 1934-2005". Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (PDF). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. pp. 1–25.
- ^ S2CID 15314700. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ a b Overbye, Dennis (19 August 2005). "John N. Bahcall, 70, Dies; Astrophysicist at Princeton". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Avrahami, Avner (June 11, 2003). "Family Affair The Bahcalls". Haaretz. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ a b c Wilson, Teresa (12 December 2017). "This Month in Astronomical History: Remembering John Bahcall". American Astronomical Society. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Bahcall, John N." The American Institute of Physics. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ S2CID 4323443. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "John N. Bahcall". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
- ^ "APS Mourns Loss of President-Elect John Bahcall". APS News. 14 (9). October 2005.
- ISSN 0163-8998.
- ISBN 978-0-471-97285-3.
- ISBN 978-0521379755.
- ^ "Press Release: The 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics". nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
- ^ a b Holley, Joe (August 20, 2005). "Solar Physics Expert John Bahcall Dies". Washington Post. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- S2CID 38054395.
- ^ a b c "RELEASE : 06-005 NASA Honors Distinguished Astronomer With Medal". NASA. January 10, 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Kaufman, Ron (May 24, 1992). "People: John Bahcall Receives Award From NASA For His Work On Hubble Space Telescope". The Scientist Magazine®. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- Bibcode:2008ASPC..384....3P.
- American Academy of Achievement.
- ^ "Comstock Prize in Physics". National Academy of Sciences.
- Bibcode:2003Obs...123..189.
- ISSN 0016-0032.
- ^ "John Bahcall (1934 - 2005)". Dan David Prize. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "FERMI John N. Bahcall and Raymon... | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)". US Department of Energy. 28 December 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
- ^ "Henry Norris Russell Lectureship". American Astronomical Society. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "Digest of Other White House Announcements". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "1998 Hans A. Bethe Prize Recipient". American Physical Society. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter B" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
External links
- Solar neutrinos: history
- Institute for Advanced Study:
- PBS Nova: The Ghost Particle
- Letter from his family after his death