James B. Fisk

Biography

Abstract

James B. Fisk was a key figure in the development of radar. He was a Director of Research and later a President of Bell Laboratories. His other institutional affiliations include University of North Carolina and Harvard University.

Important Dates

August 30, 1910Birth, West Warwick (R.I.).

1931Obtained SB, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1935Obtained PhD in Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1936 – 1938Junior Fellow, Society of Fellows, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1938 – 1939Associate Professor of Physics, University of North Carolina.

1939 – 1947Electronic Research Engineer (1939-1945) and Assistant Director of Physical Research (1945-1947), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1947 – 1948Director of Research, United States Atomic Energy Commission.

1947 – 1949Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1949 – 1973Assistant Director of Research (1949-1951); Director of Research, Physical Sciences (1952-1954); Vice President, Research (1954-1955); Executive Vice President (1955-1959); and President (1959-1973), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1951 – 1957Member, Science Advisory Committee, United States Office of Defense Mobilization.

1952 – 1958Member, General Advisory Committee, United States Atomic Energy Commission.

1954Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1957 – 1973Member (1957-1960) and Consultant (1960-1973), President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

1958 – 1959Chair, United States Technical Delegation, Geneva Test Ban Conference.

1962 – 1981Member, Executive Committee, MIT Corporation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1973 – 1974Chair, Board of Directors, Bell Telephone Laboratories.

August 10, 1981Death, Elizabethtown (N.Y.).

Occupation

Applied physicist.

Places

Birth

West Warwick (R.I.)

Undergraduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Graduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Employment

Cambridge (Mass.)

Murray Hill (N.J.)

Death

Elizabethtown (N.Y.)

Subjects

Applied physics and engineering.

Electronics.

Electrostatic accelerators.

Nuclear fission.

Nuclear weapons.

Radar.

Research, Industrial.

Science and industry.

X-rays.

Relationships

People

Family

Fisk, Charles

Son.

Fisk, Cynthia

Wife.

Fisk, Samuel

Son.

Fisk, Zachary

Son.

Colleagues

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.

Bainbridge, Kenneth T. (Kenneth Tompkins), 1904-1996

Both employed at Harvard University.

Bardeen, John

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

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

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bloembergen, N.

Both employed at Harvard University.

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.

Bridgman, P. W. (Percy Williams), 1882-1961

Both employed at Harvard University.

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.

Bush, Vannevar, 1890-1974

Both members of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Corporation.

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.

Conant, James Bryant, 1893-1978

Both employed at Harvard University.

Cutler, Cassius Chapin

Both employed at 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.

Dryden, Hugh L. (Hugh Latimer), 1898-1965

Both worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization.

DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994

Both worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization.

Dynes, Robert C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Emmons, H. W. (Howard W.)

Both employed at Harvard University.

Feher, George, 1924-

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.

Furry, W. H. (Wendell Hinkle), 1907-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Galt, John Kirtland, 1920-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Geballe, Theodore H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Gossard, A. C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Griggs, David, 1911-1974

Both employed at Harvard University.

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.

Herring, William Conyers, 1914-

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.

Javan, Ali, 1926-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Jewett, Frank B. (Frank Baldwin), 1879-1949

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kelly, Mervin Joe

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kemble, Edwin C. (Edwin Crawford), 1889-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Kistiakowsky, George B. (George Bogdan), 1900-1982

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

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.

Lyman, Theodore, 1874-1954

Both employed at Harvard University.

Matthias, Bernd T., 1918-1980

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

McMillan, William L.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Murray, Cherry Ann

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Nier, Alfred O. (Alfred Otto), 1911-1994

Both employed at Harvard University.

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.

Piore, Emanuel Ruben, 1908-2000

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Purcell, Edward M.

Both employed at Harvard University and President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

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.

Robertson, H. P. (Howard Percy), 1903-1961

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Rowell, John Martin, 1935-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Sarachik, Myriam P.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Saunders, Frederick A. (Frederick Albert), 1875-1963

Both employed at Harvard University.

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 Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smith, George E., 1930-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smith, Neville, 1942-2006

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Starr, Chauncey

Both employed at Harvard University.

Stillinger, F. H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Street, Jabez Curry, 1906-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Suhl, Harry

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Tauc, J. (Jan)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Tersoff, J.

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.

Ulam, Stanislaw M.

Both employed at Harvard University.

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

Both employed at Harvard University.

Waterman, Alan Tower, 1892-1967

Both worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization.

Weeks, John David

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Weinberg, Alvin Martin, 1915-2006

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Wiesner, Jerome B. (Jerome Bert), 1915-1994

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Wilson, Robert Woodrow, 1936-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Yariv, Amnon

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

York, Herbert F. (Herbert Frank)

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization and President's Science Advisory Committee.

Additional

Bacher, Robert F. (Robert Fox), 1905-2004

Darrow, Karl K. (Karl Kelchner), 1891-

Gentner, Wolfgang, 1906-1980

Holden, Alan

Kelly, Katherine Milsted

Millman, S. (Sidney), 1904-2006

Morgan, Stanley Owen, 1900-

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

Nix, Foster Cary, 1905-

White, Addison Hughson, 1909-

Institutions

Major Positions

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Electronic Research Engineer; Assistant Director of Physical Research; Assistant Director of Research; Director of Research, Physical Sciences; Vice President, Research; Executive Vice President; Chair, Board of Directors; and President.

Harvard University. Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Associate Professor of Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

Conference on the Origins of Solid State Physics in Italy: 1945-1960 (1987 : Pavia, Italy).

Chair, United States Technical Delegation.

Harvard University. Department of Physics

Junior Fellow.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Corporation

Member, Executive Committee.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Obtained SB in 1931 and PhD in Theoretical Physics in 1935.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission

Director of Research and Member, General Advisory Committee.

United States. President's Science Advisory Committee

Member and Consultant.

United States. Science Advisory Committee

Member.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

James B. Fisk papers.

AT & T Archives and History Center

AT & T Inc.

5 Reinman Road, Warren, NJ 07060, USA

James Fisk papers, 1931-1977.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Oral history interview with James Brown Fisk, 1976 June 24.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

AT&T Archives and History Center records, 1869- present.

AT& T Archives and History Center

AT & T Inc.

5 Reinman Road, Warren, NJ 07060, USA

MIT Office of the President records, 1972-1990.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, 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 Alan Holden, 1974 July 30 and 1976 June 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Foster Cary Nix, 1975 June 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Gerald Leondus Pearson, 1976 August 23 and 8 April 1980.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with John Clarke Slater, 1970 February 23 and August 7.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Karl K. Darrow, 1964 April 2 and 10 June.

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 Robert F. Bacher, 1986 February 13.

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 Stanley Owen Morgan, 1975 July 3.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with William Shockley, 1974 September 10.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Wolfgang Gentner, 1971 November 15.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Phillip M. Morse autobiographical data, circa 1962.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

President's Science Advisory Committee records, 1957-1961.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Library

Abilene, KS 67410, USA

Recollections on James B. Fisk, 1973, by Albert Clogston, Homer D. Hagstrum, Paul Hartman, George S. Indig, and John Robinson Pierce.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Vannevar Bush papers, 1921-1974.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Published Resources

Subject

James Brown Fisk: 1910-1981, Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences.