Kenneth Greisen

Biography

Abstract

Kenneth Ingvard Greisen was Emeritus Professor of Physics at Cornell University (1946-2007). Other institutional affiliations included the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos Laboratory. His research interests included cosmic-rays and fluorescence.

Important Dates

January 24, 1918Birth, Perth Amboy (N.J.).

1938Obtained BS, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster (Pa.).

1942Obtained PhD in Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca (N.Y.).

1942 – 1943Instructor, Cornell University.

1943 – 1946Researcher (1943-1944) and Group Leader (1944-1946), Manhattan Project, Los Alamos Laboratory.

1946 – 2007Assistant Professor to Professor of Physics (1946-1984); Professor of Astronomy (1975-1979); Chair, Astronomy Department (1976-1979); Dean of Faculty (1978-1983); and Emeritus Professor of Physics (1984-2007), Cornell University, Ithaca (N.Y.).

1974Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1975 – 1981Adjunct Professor of Physics, University of Utah.

March 17, 2007Death, Ithaca (N.Y.).

Occupation

Astrophysicist.

Places

Birth

Perth Amboy (N.J.)

Undergraduate Education

Lancaster (Pa.)

Graduate Education

Ithaca (N.Y.)

Employment

Ithaca (N.Y.)

Death

Ithaca (N.Y.)

Subjects

Astrophysics.

Cosmic rays.

Fluorescence.

Gamma rays.

Nuclear physics.

Relationships

People

Family

Greisen, Elizabeth Chase

First wife "Betty", married in 1941. Died in 1975.

Greisen, Eric W.

Son.

Greisen, Helen Wiltberger

Second wife, married in 1976. Died in 1996.

Greisen, Ingvard

Father.

Greisen, Kathryn

Daughter.

Greisen, Signa

Mother.

Advisors & Collaborators

Bollinger, Lowell M. (Lowell Moyer)

Advised by Greisen at Cornell University.

Kraushaar, William L.

Advised by Greisen at Cornell University, "Cosmic Ray Mesons Near Sea Level."

Pine, Jerry

Advised by Greisen at Cornell University, "Momentum Spectrum and Positive Excess of High-Energy Mu-Mesons."

Rossi, Bruno, 1905-1993

PhD advisor at Cornell University, "Intensity of Cosmic Rays at Low Altitude and the Origin of the Soft Component," and both employed at Cornell University.

Walker, W. D. (William Delany), 1923-

Advised by Greisen at Cornell University, "A Study of Penetrating Showers."

Colleagues

Ackerman, Jerome O.

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Ashcroft, Neil W.

Both employed at Cornell University.

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

Both employed at Cornell University.

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

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Beasley, Malcolm

Both employed at Cornell University.

Bethe, Hans A. (Hans Albrecht), 1906-2005

Both employed at Cornell University.

Bradbury, Norris, 1909-1997

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Corson, Dale R.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Courant, Ernest D. (Ernest David), 1920-

Both employed at Cornell University.

Davis, J. C. Séamus

Both employed at Cornell University.

DiSalvo, Francis

Both employed at Cornell University.

Drell, Persis S.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Dresselhaus, M. S.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Dyson, Freeman J.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Feigenbaum, Mitchell, 1944-2019

Both employed at Cornell University.

Fermi, Enrico, 1901-1954

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Feynman, Richard P. (Richard Phillips), 1918-1988

Both employed at Cornell University.

Fisher, Michael E. (Michael Ellis)

Both employed at Cornell University.

Fussell, Lewis

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Gurinsky, David

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Henderson, Robert W. (Robert Wesley), 1914-

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Hoffman, Joseph G. (Joseph Gilbert), 1909-

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Hopper, J. D.

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Kinoshita, T. (Toichiro)

Both employed at Cornell University.

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

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Koski, Walter

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Krumhansl, J. A. (James A.)

Both employed at Cornell University.

Lee, David M.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Lieb, Elliott H.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Linschitz, Henry, 1919-

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Long, E. L.

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

McDaniel, Boyce D. (Boyce Dawkins), 1917-

Both employed at Cornell University.

Mermin, N. David

Both employed at Cornell University.

Merritt, Ernest, 1865-1948

Both employed at Cornell University.

Montroll, E. W.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Morrison, Philip

Both employed at Cornell University.

Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Overhauser, Albert Warner, 1925-

Both employed at Cornell University.

Pandharipande, V. R.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Parsons, William Sterling, 1901-1953

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Peale, Stanton Jerrold

Both employed at Cornell University.

Peoples, John, Jr.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Pohl, Robert O.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Reppy, John David

Both employed at Cornell University.

Richardson, Robert C. (Robert Coleman), 1937-2013

Both employed at Cornell University.

Schaffer, W. F.

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Sessler, A. M. (Andrew Marienhoff)

Both employed at Cornell University.

Susskind, Leonard

Both employed at Cornell University.

Tape, Gerald Frederick, 1915-2005

Both employed at Cornell University.

Tedrow, Paul, 1940-

Both employed at Cornell University.

Tenney, Gerold

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Teukolsky, Saul A. (Saul Arno), 1947-

Both employed at Cornell University.

Tigner, M.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Wilson, Kenneth G. (Kenneth Geddes), 1936-2013

Both employed at Cornell University.

Wilson, Robert R., 1914-2000

Both employed at Cornell University.

Additional

Keck, James Collyer, 1924-

Peters, B. (Bernard), 1910-

Institutions

Major Positions

Cornell University

Dean of Faculty.

Cornell University. Department of Astronomy

Professor of Astronomy and Department Chair.

Cornell University. Department of Physics

Obtained PhD in Physics (1942). Instructor; Assistant Professor to Professor of Physics; and Emeritus Professor of Physics.

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

Researcher and Group Leader, Manhattan Project.

Manhattan Project (U.S.)

Researcher and Group Leader, Los Alamos Laboratory.

University of Utah. Department of Physics & Astronomy

Adjunct Professor of Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

Franklin and Marshall College

Obtained BS (1938).

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Kenneth I. Greisen course notes, 1959-1960.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Kenneth I. Greisen lecture notes, 1940.

Carl A. Kroch Library. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections

Cornell University

2B Carl A Kroch Library, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

Subject

Bernard Peters papers, 1947-1992.

Niels Bohr Archive

Blegdamsvej 17, Copenhagen, Denmark

James C. Keck notebooks, 1946-1949.

Carl A. Kroch Library. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections

Cornell University

2B Carl A Kroch Library, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

James C. Keck notebooks, 1946-1949.

Carl A. Kroch Library. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections

Cornell University

2B Carl A Kroch Library, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

Published Resources

Subject

"Kenneth I. Greisen: 1918-2007", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences

Kenneth Ingvard Greisen Physics Today obituary.