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Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectWalter Gordy
Dates
April 20, 1909 – October 6, 1985
Authorized Form of Name
Gordy, Walter, 1909-1985
Biography
Abstract
Walter Gordy was Emeritus Professor of Physics at Duke University (1946-1985). Other institutional affiliations included Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radiation Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology. His research included microwave spectroscopy and hydrogen bonding.
Important Dates
April 20, 1909Birth, Newton County (Miss.).
1932Obtained BA, Mississippi College, Clinton (Miss.).
1933Obtained MA, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (N.C.).
1935Obtained PhD in Physics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (N.C.).
1935 – 1941Associate Professor of Mathematics and Physics, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton (Tex.).
1941 – 1942National Research Fellow in Physics, California Institute of Technology.
1942 – 1946Researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Radiation Laboratory.
1946 – 1985Associate Professor of Physics (1946-1948); Professor of Physics (1948-1958); James B. Duke Professor (1958-1979); and Emeritus Professor of Physics (1979-1985), Duke University, Durham (N.C.).
1953 – 1957Member, Advisory Committee, Office of Ordnance Research, United States Army.
1954 – 1957Member, Physical Science Division, National Research Council.
1958Visiting Professor, University of Texas, Austin.
1959 – 1965Member, Physics Advisory Panel, Radio Standards Laboratory, National Bureau of Standards.
1961 – 1971Member, Council, American Physical Society.
1968 – 1974Member, Physical Science Division, National Research Council.
1973 – 1977Member, Council, American Physical Society.
1974 – 1977Member, United States Committee, International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics.
1980Awarded Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy, American Physical Society.
1985Member, National Academy of Sciences.
October 6, 1985Death, Durham (N.C.).
Occupation
Physicist.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Relationships
People
Family
Gordy, Eileen
Daughter.
Gordy, Terrell
Son.
Gordy, Vida
Wife, married 1935.
Advisors & Collaborators
Plyler, Earle Keith, 1897-1976
PhD advisor at University of North Carolina.
Colleagues
Anderson, Carl D. (Carl David), 1905-1991
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
DuMond, Jesse W. M. (Jesse William Monroe), 1892-1976
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Epstein, Paul S. (Paul Sophus), 1883-1966
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Houston, W. V. (William Vermillion), 1900-
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Lauritsen, Charles Christian, 1892-1968
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Neddermeyer, Seth H. (Seth Henry), 1907-1988
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Panofsky, Wolfgang K. H. (Wolfgang Kurt Hermann), 1919-2007
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Tolman, Richard C. (Richard Chace), 1881-1948
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Von Kármán, Theodore, 1881-1963
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Additional
London, Fritz, 1900-1954
Prokhorov, A. M. (Aleksandr Mikhaĭlovich), 1916-2002
Institutions
Major Positions
California Institute of Technology. Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy
National Research Fellow in Physics.
Duke University. Department of Physics
Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; James B. Duke Professor; and Emeritus Professor of Physics.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Radiation Laboratory
Researcher.
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
Associate Professor of Mathematics and Physics.
University of Texas at Austin. Department of Physics
Visiting Professor.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
Member, Council and received 1980 Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy.
International Union for Pure and Applied Biophysics
Member, United States Committee.
Mississippi College
Obtained BA (1932).
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Member.
National Research Council (U.S.)
Member, Physical Science Division.
United States. Army. Ordnance Department
Member, Advisory Committee, Office of Ordnance Research.
United States. National Bureau of Standards
Member, Physics Advisory Panel, Radio Standards Laboratory.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Department of Physics and Astronomy
Obtained MA (1933) and PhD in Physics (1935).
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
Walter Gordy papers, 1949-1986.
Archives
Duke University
341 Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, NC 27706, USA
Subject
Duke University Department of Physics records, 1946-1959.
Archives
Duke University
341 Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, NC 27706, USA
Fritz London papers, 1926-1954.
Archives
Duke University
341 Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, NC 27706, USA
Oral history interview with A. M. Prokhorov, 1984 September 14.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Earle Plyler, 1964 April 7.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Maurice Goldhaber, 1967 January 10.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Published Resources
Author
Microwave spectroscopy / [by] Walter Gordy, William V. Smith [and] Ralph F. Trambarulo.
Subject
"Walter Gordy: 1909-1995", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences