William Conyers Herring

Biography

Abstract

Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics, Princeton University, 1937. Major positions: National Research Council (NRC) Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technolgy (1937-39); Researcher, Division War Research, Columbia University (1941-45); Member of technical staff, Bell Telephone Laboratories (1946-78); Professor of Applied Physics (1978-81) and Professor Emeritus of Applied Physics (1981-2009), Stanford University.

Important Dates

November 15, 1914Birth, Scotia (N.Y.).

1933Received B.A. in Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence (Kan.).

1933 – 1934Spent one year completing graduate studies at California Institute of Technology before transferring to Princeton University, Pasadena (Calif.).

1937Received Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1937 – 1939National Research Council (NRC) Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1939 – 1940Instructor in Mathematics, Princeton University.

1940 – 1941Instructor in Physics, University of Mississippi.

1941 – 1945Researcher, Division of War Research, Columbia University.

1946Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Texas, Austin.

1946 – 1978Member, Technical Staff (1946-1978) and Head, Theoretical Physics Department (1955-1958), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1952 – 1953Member, Institute for Advanced Study.

1959Awarded Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize, American Physical Society (APS).

1959 – 1960Chair, Division of Solid State Physics, American Physical Society (APS).

1968Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1978 – 2009Professor of Applied Physics (1978-1981) and Professor Emeritus of Applied Physics (1981-2009), Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).

1984Awarded Wolf Foundation Prize in Physics.

July 23, 2009Death, Palo Alto (Calif.).

Occupation

Theoretical solid state physicist.

Places

Birth

Scotia (N.Y.)

Undergraduate Education

Lawrence (Kan.)

Graduate Education

Pasadena (Calif.)

Princeton (N.J.)

Employment

Murray Hill (N.J.)

Stanford (Calif.)

Death

Palo Alto (Calif.)

Subjects

Anti-submarine warfare.

Crystals.

Hydrodynamics.

Science and industry.

Semiconductors.

Solid state physics.

Theoretical physics.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Science.

Relationships

People

Advisors & Collaborators

Bardeen, John

Collaborated on the modern band theory of solids. Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Galt, John Kirtland, 1920-

Collaborated on experiments with tin microwhiskers. Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Geballe, Theodore H.

Co-wrote an article. Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories and Stanford University.

Kunzler, John Eugene, 1923-

Co-wrote an article.

Seitz, Frederick, 1911-2008

Collaborated on the modern band theory of solids.

Wigner, Eugene Paul, 1902-1995

Ph.D. advisor at Princeton University on energy coincidences in the theory of Brillouin Zones. Collaborated on the modern band theory of solids.

Colleagues

Ahlers, G. (Günter)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Anderson, P. W. (Philip W.), 1923-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Appelbaum, J. A. (Joel A.)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Ashkin, Arthur, 1922-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Aspnes, D. E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Baker, William O. (William Oliver), 1915-2005

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Beasley, Malcolm

Both employed at Stanford University.

Bienenstock, Arthur

Both employed at Stanford University.

Birgeneau, Robert J. (Robert Joseph), 1942-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bitter, Francis, 1902-1967

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Bode, Hendrik W. (Hendrik Wade), 1905-1982

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Boyle, Willard S., 1924-2011

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Brattain, Walter H. (Walter Houser), 1902-1987

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Brinkman, William F. (William Frank), 1938-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Buchsbaum, Solomon J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Buckley, Oliver Ellsworth, 1887-1959

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Byer, R. L. (Robert L.), 1942-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Chodorow, Marvin

Both employed at Stanford University.

Chu, Ching-wu, 1941-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chynoweth, A. G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Clogston, Albert McCavour

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cohen, Marvin L.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Compton, K. T. (Karl Taylor), 1887-1954

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Conwell, Esther M. (Esther Marley), 1922-2014

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cutler, Cassius Chapin

Both employed at Stanford University and Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Darlington, Sidney, 1906-1997

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

David, Edward E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Davisson, Clinton Joseph, 1881-1958

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

DiSalvo, Francis

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Dolan, Gerald

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Dynes, Robert C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Eisenhart, Luther Pfahler, 1876-1965

Both employed at Princeton University.

Falcone, Roger W.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Feher, George, 1924-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fisk, James B. (James Brown), 1910-1981

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fletcher, Harvey, 1884-1981

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fleury, Paul A.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fulton, Theodore Alan

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Gossard, A. C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hagstrum, Homer D.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Halperin, Bertrand I.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hamann, Donald, 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hohenberg, Pierre C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hopfield, John J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Ives, Herbert Eugene, 1882-1953

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Jackson, Shirley Ann, 1946-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Javan, Ali, 1926-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kelly, Mervin Joe

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kittel, Charles

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kompfner, Rudolf, 1909-1977

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kraichnan, Robert H., 1928-2008

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kusch, Polykarp, 1911-1993

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lander, James J., 1914-1996

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lax, Melvin J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lee, P. A. (Patrick A.), 1946-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Libchaber, Albert J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Livingston, M. Stanley (Milton Stanley)

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Matthias, Bernd T., 1918-1980

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

McMillan, William L.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Morse, Philip M. (Philip McCord), 1903-1985

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Osheroff, Douglas D.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Patel, C. Kumar N.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pearson, Gerald L. (Gerald Leondus)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Penzias, Arno A.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pfann, William G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Phillips, J. C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Raney, William P.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Rice, Thomas Maurice, 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Richards, Paul L. (Paul Linford)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Rowell, John Martin, 1935-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Sarachik, Myriam P.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Shank, C. V. (Charles V.)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Shockley, William, 1910-1989

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Slater, John C. (John Clarke), 1900-1976

Both employed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Smith, George E., 1930-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smith, Neville, 1942-2006

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Stillinger, F. H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Störmer, Horst

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Stratton, Julius Adams, 1901-1994

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Suhl, Harry

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Tauc, J. (Jan)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Thomas, D. G. (David Gilbert), 1928-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Townes, Charles H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Tsui, D. C. (Daniel Chee), 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Van de Graaf, Robert Jemison, 1901-1967

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Weeks, John David

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Wilson, Robert Woodrow, 1936-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Yariv, Amnon

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Additional

Bennett, William Ralph, 1930-2008

Bloch, Felix, 1905-

Brooks, Harvey

Condon, Edward Uhler, 1902-1974

Debye, Peter J. W. (Peter Josef William), 1884-1966

Fermi, Enrico, 1901-1954

Frank, Charles, Sir

Herman, Frank

Hoddeson, Lillian

Houston, W. V. (William Vermillion), 1900-

Hutchisson, Elmer, 1902-

Kelly, Katherine Milsted

Landau, L. D. (Lev Davidovich), 1908-1968

Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953

Millman, S. (Sidney), 1904-2006

Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967

Russell, Henry Norris, 1877-1957

Thouless, D. J.

Van Vleck, J. H. (John Hasbrouck), 1899-1980

White, Addison Hughson, 1909-

Wooldridge, Dean E.

Institutions

Major Positions

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Member, Technical staff and Head, Theoretical Physics Department.

Columbia University. Division of War Research

Researcher.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

National Research Council (NRC) Fellow.

Princeton University. Department of Mathematics

Instructor in Mathematics.

Stanford University. Department of Applied Physics

Professor of Applied Physics and Professor Emeritus of Applied Physics.

University of Mississippi. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Instructor in Physics.

University of Texas at Austin. Department of Mathematics

Professor of Applied Mathematics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

American Association for the Advancement of Science

American Institute of Physics

American Physical Society

Chair, Division of Solid State Physics.

California Institute of Technology. Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy

Attended for one year of graduate studies.

Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, N.J.)

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Princeton University. Department of Physics

Received Ph.D. in 1937.

University of Kansas. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Received B.A. in 1933.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

John Bardeen Memorial Symposium [videorecording] / 1992 March 16.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Notes on lectures at Princeton by Henry Norris Russell and others, on such topics as astrophysics, statistical mechanics, and Dirac theory, and Laue lectures, circa 1930.

In Herring's possession.

Oral history interview with William Conyers Herring, 1974 July 23, 29, and 31 October.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with William Conyers Herring, 1981 December 14.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with William Conyers Herring, 2000 August 5.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

W. Conyers Herring papers, 1970-1973.

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305, USA

William C. Herring papers.

In Herring's possession.

Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Subject

AIP Office of the Director records of Elmer Hutchisson, 1948-1966 (bulk 1957-1964).

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Lillian Hoddeson addition to papers, 1913-2006.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Lillian Hoddeson papers, 1904-2001.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview Addison Hughson White, 1976 September 30.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Dean E. Wooldridge, 1976 August 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Eugene Paul Wigner, 1966 November 30.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Eugene Paul Wigner, 1981 January 24.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Eugene Paul Wigner, 1984 April 12.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Frank Herman, 1982 June 17.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Katharine Milsted Kelly, 1976 July 2.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with P. W. Anderson, 1988 May 10.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Sidney Millman, 1974 August 2, September 13 and 1975 August 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Sir Charles Frank, 1981 July 31.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with William R. Bennett, 1987 October 26.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Report of the task group on the economics of primary publication / Committee on Scientific and Technical Communication, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering.

Subject

William Conyers Herring Physics Today obituary.