Sidney D. Drell

Biography

Abstract

Sidney D. Drell was Professor Emeritus at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) (1963-present). Other institutional affiliations included Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research interests included theoretical physics, National Security, and arms control.

Important Dates

September 13, 1926Birth, Atlantic City (N.J.).

1946Obtained BA, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1947Obtained MA, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

1949Obtained PhD in Physics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

1949 – 1950Research Associate, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

1950 – 1952Instructor in Physics, Stanford University.

1952 – 1956Research Associate (1952-1953) and Assistant Professor of Physics (1953-1956), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1956 – 1963Professor of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).

1956 – 1964Consultant, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

1960 – presentConsultant, JASON Defense Advisory Group.

1963 – 1973Consultant, Office of Science and Technology, Executive Office of the President.

1963 – presentProfessor of Physics (1963-2002); Executive Head of Theoretical Physics (1969-1986); Deputy Director (1969-1998); and Professor Emeritus (2002-present), Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), Menlo Park (Calif.).

1966 – 1969Member (1966-1969) and Chair (1967-1969), Department of Physics Advisory Council, Princeton University.

1966 – 1971Member, President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

1968 – presentConsultant, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

1969Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1969 – 1981Consultant, United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.

1971 – 1993Member, Board of Directors, The Arms Control Association.

1973 – 1981Consultant, National Security Council (U.S.).

1974 – 1976Member, United States Defense Science Board Task Force.

1974 – 1983Member, Board of Trustees, Institute for Advanced Study.

1974 – 1985Member (1974-1982) and Chair (1974-1985), High Energy Physics Advisory Panel, United States Department of Energy.

1975 – 1991Consultant, Office of Technology Assessment, United States Congress.

1977 – 1982Consultant, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President.

1978 – 1980Member, Energy Research Advisory Board, United States Department of Energy.

1978 – 1982Consultant, Select Committee on Intelligence, United States Senate.

1980 – 2007Member, Council on Foreign Relations.

1983 – 1989Co-Director, Stanford Center for International Security and Arms Control.

1984 – 1991Member, Aspen Strategy Group.

1985 – 1990Member, Advisory Board, Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1986President, American Physical Society.

1988 – 1993Member, Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government.

1989 – 1996Adjunct Professor, Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University.

1990 – 1991Chair, Panel on Nuclear Weapons Safety, Armed Services Committee, United States House of Representatives.

1990 – 1993Chair, Technology Review Panel, Select Committee on Intelligence, United States Senate.

1991 – 1993Member, Director's Advisory Committee, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

1992 – 1999Chair, President's Council on the National Laboratories, University of California.

1992 – 2001Member, Non-Proliferaton Advisory Panel.

1998 – presentSenior Fellow, Hoover Institution.

2000Awarded Enrico Fermi Award, United States Department of Energy.

2011Awarded National Medal of Science.

December 21, 2016Death, Palo Alto (Calif.).

Occupation

Theoretical physicist.

Places

Birth

Atlantic City (N.J.)

Undergraduate Education

Princeton (N.J.)

Graduate Education

Champaign (Ill.)

Employment

Stanford (Calif.)

Menlo Park (Calif.)

Death

Palo Alto (Calif.)

Subjects

Elementary particles.

Particle acceleration.

Science and state.

Storage rings.

Theoretical physics.

Relationships

People

Family

Drell, Persis S.

Daughter and both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Advisors & Collaborators

Bjorken, James D.

Co-wrote "Relativistic quantum mechanics" and "Relativistic quantum fields" and both employed at Stanford University and at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Dancoff, Sidney M., 1913-1951

PhD advisor at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign on Magnetic conversion coefficient ; electrostatic scattering of neutrons ; anomalous magnetic moments of nucleons.

Frautschi, Steven C., 1933-

Advised by Drell at Stanford University on PC conservation in strong intractions and wide angle pair production and quantum electrodynamics at small distances.

Walecka, John Dirk, 1932-

Advised as post-doc by Drell at Stanford University and both employed at Stanford University.

Colleagues

Almy, Gerald Marks, 1904-

Both employed at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Arnold, R. G. (Raymond George), 1942-

Both employed at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

Baldeschwieler, John D., 1933-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Benedek, George Bernard, 1928-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Bitter, Francis, 1902-1967

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Bloch, Felix, 1905-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Bradbury, Norris, 1909-1997

Both employed at Stanford University.

Branscomb, Lewis M., 1926-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Calvin, Melvin, 1911-1997

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Chew, Geoffrey F.

Both employed at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Chodorow, Marvin

Both employed at Stanford University.

Deutsch, Martin, 1917-2002

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Dorfan, Jonathan

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

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

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Enge, Harald A.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Fairbank, William Martin, 1917-1989

Both employed at Stanford University.

Ference, Michael, 1911-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Feshbach, Herman

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Fitch, Val L., 1923-2015

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Fletcher, James Chipman, 1919-1991

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Frank, Nathaniel H. (Nathaniel Herman), 1903-1984

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Friedman, Herbert, 1916-2000

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Friedman, Jerome I. (Jerome Isaac), 1930-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Garwin, Richard L.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Gell-Mann, Murray

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Glashow, Sheldon L.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Goldberger, Marvin L.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Goldhaber, Gertrude S. -1998

Both employed at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Goldhaber, Maurice, 1911-2011

Both employed at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Guth, Alan H.

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Haggerty, Patrick E.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Hahn, E. L. (Erwin Louis), 1921-

Both employed at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Handler, Philip, 1917-1981

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Henley, Ernest M.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Hewlett, William R.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Hofstadter, Robert, 1915-1990

Both employed at Stanford University.

Hornig, Donald F., 1920-2013

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Kahn, Steven Michael

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Kao, Chi-Chang

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Kendall, Henry W. (Henry Way), 1926-1999

Both employed at Stanford University.

Kerst, Donald William, 1911-1993

Both employed at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Keyes, Frederick G. (Frederick George), 1885-1976

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kirkpatrick, Paul

Both employed at Stanford University.

Kraushaar, William L.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Lamb, Willis E. (Willis Eugene), 1913-2008

Both employed at Stanford University.

Lazarus, David, 1921-

Both employed at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Livingston, M. Stanley (Milton Stanley)

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Loomis, F. W. (Francis Wheeler), 1889-1976

Both employed at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

MacDonald, Gordon J. (Gordon James), 1929-2002

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

McElroy, William David, 1917-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Meyerhof, Walter E. (Walter Ernst), 1922-

Both employed at Stanford University.

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

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Orowan, E. (Egon), 1902-1989

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Pake, G. E. (George Edward)

Both employed at Stanford University and President's Science Advisory Committee.

Panofsky, Wolfgang K. H. (Wolfgang Kurt Hermann), 1919-2007

Both employed at Stanford University, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), and President's Science Advisory Committee.

Perl, Martin L., 1927-2014

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Pierce, John R. (John Robinson), 1910-2002

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Pitzer, Kenneth S. (Kenneth Sanborn), 1914-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Polchinski, Joseph Gerard

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Prescott, Charles

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Quinn, Helen R.

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Rasmussen, Norman C.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Richter, Burton, 1931-2018

Both employed at Stanford University and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Rosenbluth, M. N.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Rossi, Bruno, 1905-1993

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Stanford University.

Schiff, Leonard I. (Leonard Isaac), 1915-1971

Both employed at Stanford University.

Schulz, George J., 1925-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Seitz, Frederick, 1911-2008

Both employed at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and President's Science Advisory Committee.

Shen, Zhi-Xun

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Shull, Clifford Glenwood

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Simon, Herbert A. (Herbert Alexander), 1916-2001

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

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

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Slichter, Charles P.

Both employed at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and President's Science Advisory Committee.

Stöhr, Joachim

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Stratton, Julius Adams, 1901-1994

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Sullivan, Jeremiah D.

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Tape, Gerald Frederick, 1915-2005

Both employed at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and President's Science Advisory Committee.

Taylor, Richard Edward, 1929-2018

Both employed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Teller, Edward, 1908-2003

Both employed at Stanford University.

Terman, Frederick Emmons, 1900-1982

Both employed at Stanford University.

Townes, Charles H.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Truxal, John G.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Van de Graaf, Robert Jemison, 1901-1967

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Webster, David Locke, 1888-1976

Both employed at Stanford University.

Weisskopf, Victor Frederick, 1908-2002

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Wood, Harland G. (Harland Goff), 1907-1991

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

York, Herbert F. (Herbert Frank)

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Additional

Flatte, Stanley M.

Lewis, H. W. (Harold Warren)

Low, Francis E. (Francis Eugene), 1921-2007

Pickering, Andrew, 1948-

Sakharov, Andreĭ, 1921-1989

Schwartz, Charles Leon, 1931-

Tamm, I. E. (Igor' Evgen'evich), 1895-1971

Trilling, George H.

Watson, Kenneth M.

Zachariasen, Fredrik

Institutions

Major Positions

American Physical Society

President.

Carnegie-Mellon University. Department of Engineering and Public Policy

Adjunct Professor.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Research Associate and Assistant Professor of Physics.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Professor Emeritus.

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Professor of Physics; Executive Head, Theoretical Physics; Deputy Director; and Professor Emeritus.

Stanford University. Center for International Security and Arms Control

Co-Director.

Stanford University. Department of Physics

Instructor and Professor of Physics.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Department of Physics

Obtained MA; PhD in 1949 (Physics); and Research Associate.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

Arms Control Association (Washington, D.C.)

Member.

Aspen Strategy Group (U.S.)

Member.

Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government

Member.

Council on Foreign Relations

Member.

Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace

Senior Fellow.

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

Member, Board of Trustees.

JASON Defense Advisory Group

Consultant.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Member, Director's Advisory Committee.

Lincoln Laboratory

Member, Advisory Board.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Consultant.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

National Security Council (U.S.)

Consultant.

Princeton University. Department of Physics

Obtained BA, Member and Chair, Department of Physics Advisory Council.

United States. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency

Consultant.

United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services

Chair, Panel on Nuclear Weapons Safety.

United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment

Consultant.

United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Intelligence

Consultant and Chair, Technology Review Panel.

United States. Defense Science Board

Member, Task Force.

United States. Department of Energy

Member and Chair, High Energy Physics Advisory Panel; Member, Energy Research Advisory Board; and awarded 2000 Enrico Fermi Award.

United States. Office of Science and Technology Policy

Consultant.

United States. President's Science Advisory Committee

Member.

University of California

Chair, President's Council on the National Laboratories.

University of Rochester. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Oral history interview with Richard Garwin and Sidney Drell, 2006 May 5.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Sidney D. Drell, 1986 July 1.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Sidney Drell, 1996 August 1.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Sessions of the annual meeting of Corporate Associates [sound recording], 1971 September 23.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Sidney Drell papers, 1940-1998.

National Accelerator Laboratory. Archives and History Office

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)

2575 Sand Hill Road, MS 97, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA

Sidney Drell papers, 1966-2000.

Archives.

Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace

Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Stanford University Department of Physics lectures, 1965-1980.

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Subject

Andrei Sakharov papers, 1852-2002 (bulk 1960-1990).

Houghton Library

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Andrew Pickering interviews conducted for his book CONSTRUCTING QUARKS, 1978-1982.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Igor E. Tamm papers, 1921-1971. (In private hands)

Tamm Family

In private hands

Moscow

Oral history interview with Charles Leon Schwartz, 1987 May 15.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Francis Eugene Low, 1986 April 29.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Fredrik Zachariasen, 1986 February 12.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with George H. Trilling, 2006 March 1.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Harold Warren Lewis, 1986 July 6.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Kenneth M. Watson, 1986 February 10.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Stanley Martin Flatté, 1986 July 2.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Steven C. Frautschi, 2003 June 17 and 20.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Published Resources

Author

Deterrence : its past and future : papers presented at Hoover Institution, November 2010 / edited by George P. Shultz, Sidney D. Drell, and James E. Goodby.

Electromagnetic structure of nucleons / by S.D. Drell and F. Zachariasen.

Implications of the Reykjavik summit on its twentieth anniversary : conference report / conference organizers and report editors, Sidney D. Drell and George P. Shultz.

In the shadow of the bomb : physics and arms control / Sidney D. Drell.

Nuclear weapons, scientists, and the post-Cold War challenge : selected papers on arms control / Sidney D. Drell.

Relativistic quantum fields / [by] James D. Bjorken [and] Sidney D. Drell.

Relativistic quantum mechanics / [by] James D. Bjorken [and] Sidney D. Drell.

Sakharov remembered / edited by Sergei P. Kapitza, Sidney Drell.

Sidney Drell - 2011 National Medal of Science [video]

The gravest danger : nuclear weapons / Sidney D. Drell and James E. Goodby ; [foreword by George P. Shultz].

The nuclear enterprise : high-consequence accidents : how to enhance safety and minimize risks in nuclear weapons and reactors / edited by George P. Shultz and Sidney D. Drell.

The Reagan Strategic Defense Initiative : a technical, political, and arms control assessment / by Sidney D. Drell, Philip J. Farley, and David Holloway.

Theoretical physicist and arms control expert Sidney Drell is a 2011 NMS Laureate [video]

Subject

Sidney Drell Physics Today Obituary