Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky

Biography

Abstract

Physicist. Director of High Energy Physics Laboratory at Stanford University, 1953-1961; Founding Director of Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, 1961-1984.

Important Dates

April 24, 1919Birth, Berlin (Germany).

1938Received A.B., Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1942Received Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Calif.).

1942 – 1945Director, Office of Scientific Research and Development Project, California Institute of Technology.

1943 – 1945Consultant, Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

1945 – 1951Physicist, Radiation Laboratory (1945-46; 1951); Assistant Professor (1946-48); and Associate Professor of Physics (1948-51), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley (Calif.).

1945 – 1960Consultant, Division of Military Applications, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission.

1951 – 1963Professor of Physics (1951-63) and Director of High Energy Physics Laboratory (1953-61), Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).

1954Elected member, National Academy of Sciences.

1954 – 1958Member, Physics Panel, National Science Foundation.

1955 – 1957Member, Scientific Advisory Board, U. S. Air Force.

1958Consultant, Stanford Research Institute.

1958 – 1960Member, High Energy Commission, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP).

1958 – 1960Member, Review Committee, Particle Accelator Division and High Energy Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory.

1958 – 1962Consultant, Advanced Research Projects Agency, U. S. Department of Defense.

1961 – 1964Member, President's Science Advisory Committee.

1961 – 2007Founding Director (1961-84); Professor (1963-89); Director Emeritus (1984-2007); and Emeritus Professor (1989-2007), Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), Menlo Park (Calif.).

1963 – 1966Member, Physics Survey Committee, National Academy of Sciences.

1965 – 1973Consultant, Office of Science and Technology, Executive Office of the President.

1965 – 2007Member (1965-2007) and Member, Steering Committee (1965-73), JASON study group.

1967 – 1970Member, High Energy Physics Advisory Panel, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission.

1968 – 1972Member, Advisory Committee, Brookhaven National Laboratory.

1969Awarded the National Medal of Science.

1969 – 1970Co-Chair, Stanford Mid-Peninsula Urban Coalition.

1974President, American Physical Society (APS).

1977 – 1978Member, Nuclear Energy Policy Study, Ford Foundation.

1977 – 1980Member, Board of Trustees, Universities Research Association.

1978Received the Enrico Fermi Award from the U. S. Department of Energy.

1978 – 1980Member, General Advisory Committee to the President, The White House.

1980 – 2007Member, United States-People's Republic of China Joint Committee for Cooperation on High Energy Physics.

1981 – 2007Member (1981-2005); Chair of Senior Advisors (1985-93); and Senior Advisor (2005-07), Committee on International Security and Arms Control, National Academy of Sciences.

1984 – 1993Chair, Board of Overseers, Superconducting Super Collider.

1985 – 1993Chair, Commission on Particles and Fields, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP).

1987 – 1992Member, Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China, National Academy of Sciences.

September 24, 2007Death, Los Altos (Calif.).

Occupation

High energy physicist.

Places

Birth

Berlin (Germany)

Undergraduate Education

Princeton (N.J.)

Graduate Education

Pasadena (Calif.)

Employment

Berkeley (Calif.)

Stanford (Calif.)

Menlo Park (Calif.)

Death

Los Altos (Calif.)

Subjects

Arms control.

Bevatron.

Bubble chambers.

Colliding beams.

Electron accelerators.

Korean War, 1950-1953.

Mesons.

Nuclear arms control.

Nuclear physics.

Particle accelerators.

Pions.

Scattering (Physics).

Storage rings.

Synchrotrons.

United States -- National security.

World War, 1939-1945.

Relationships

People

Family

Panofsky, Adele I.

Wife, married in 1942.

Panofsky, Carol

Daughter.

Panofsky, Edward

Son.

Panofsky, Erwin, 1892-1968

Father.

Panofsky, Hans A.

Brother.

Panofsky, Margaret

Daughter.

Panofsky, Richard

Son.

Panofsky, Steven

Son.

Advisors & Collaborators

Dalitz, R. H. (Richard Henry), 1925-2006

Co-wrote "Particle Physics."

Phillips, Melba, 1907-2004

Co-wrote "Classical Electricity and Magnetism".

Colleagues

Allison, Samuel King, 1900-1965

Both employed at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Alvarez, Luis W., 1911-1988

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Anderson, Carl D. (Carl David), 1905-1991

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

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

Both employed at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

Barschall, H. H. (Henry Herman), 1915-1997

Both employed at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Bederson, Benjamin

Both employed at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Birge, Raymond T. (Raymond Thayer), 1887-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Bjorken, James D.

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

Bloch, Felix, 1905-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Bradbury, Norris, 1909-1997

Both employed at Stanford University.

Brode, Robert B. (Robert Bigham), 1900-1986

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Brown, Harold, 1927-2019

Both employed at Lawrence Radiation Laboratory.

Case, Kenneth M.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Chamberlain, O. (Owen)

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Chew, Geoffrey F.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Chodorow, Marvin

Both employed at Stanford University.

Corson, Dale R.

Both employed at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

deStaebler, Herbert C. (Herbert Conrad)

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

Deutsch, Martin, 1917-2002

Both employed at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Dorfan, Jonathan

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

Drell, Persis S.

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

Drell, Sidney D. (Sidney David), 1926-

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

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

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Duffield, Robert B.

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, the Manhattan Project.

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.

Fairbank, William Martin, 1917-1989

Both employed at Stanford University.

Fitch, Val L., 1923-2015

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Fowler, William A.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Glashow, Sheldon L.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Goldberger, Marvin L.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Gordy, Walter, 1909-1985

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Guth, Alan H.

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

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Helmholz, August Carl, 1915-2003

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Henley, Ernest M.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Hofstadter, Robert, 1915-1990

Both employed at Stanford University.

Holdren, John P.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

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

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Kahn, Steven Michael

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

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Kirkpatrick, Paul

Both employed at Stanford University.

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

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

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Lauritsen, Charles Christian, 1892-1968

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Lawrence, Ernest Orlando, 1901-1958

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Lee, T. D., 1926-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Loeb, Leonard B. (Leonard Benedict), 1891-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

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

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

Marshak, Robert E. (Robert Eugene), 1916-1992

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Mayer, Maria Goeppert, 1906-1972

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

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

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

McMillan, Edwin M. (Edwin Mattison), 1907-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Radiation Laboratory.

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Moyer, Burton J., 1912-1973

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Nierenberg, William Aaron, 1919-2000

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Pake, G. E. (George Edward)

Both employed at Stanford University.

Perl, Martin L., 1927-2014

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

Polchinski, Joseph Gerard

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

Prescott, Charles

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

Press, Frank, 1924-

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

Purcell, Edward M.

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

Quinn, Helen R.

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

Reynolds, John Hamilton, 1923-2000

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Richter, Burton, 1931-2018

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

Ruderman, Malvin A.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Stanford University.

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Seaborg, Glenn T. (Glenn Theodore), 1912-1999

Both employed at Lawrence Radiation Laboratory.

Segrè, Emilio

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Serber, R. (Robert)

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Shen, Zhi-Xun

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

Slichter, Charles P.

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

Steinberger, J.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Steiner, Herbert M.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Stöhr, Joachim

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

Sullivan, Jeremiah D.

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

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.

Turkevich, Anthony, 1916-2002

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Walecka, John Dirk, 1932-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Watson, Kenneth M.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Webster, David Locke, 1888-1976

Both employed at Stanford University.

Wick, G. C. (Gian Carlo)

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

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

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

York, Herbert F. (Herbert Frank)

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, the Manhattan Project and the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Additional

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

Brueckner, Keith A.

Dicke, Robert H. (Robert Henry)

Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969

Eyring, Henry, 1901-1981

Frauenfelder, Hans, 1922-

Garwin, Richard L.

Ginzton, Edward L. (Edward Leonard), 1915-1998

Hansen, W. W. (William Webster), 1909-1949

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

Rabi, I. I. (Isidor Isaac), 1898-1988

Sands, Matthew L. (Matthew Linzee)

Shane, Charles Donald, 1895-1983

Townes, Charles H.

Wilson, Robert R., 1914-2000

Institutions

Major Positions

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

Received Ph.D. and Director, Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) research project.

Manhattan Project (U.S.)

Consultant.

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Founding Director; Professor; Director Emeritus; and Emeritus Professor.

Stanford Research Institute

Consultant.

Stanford University. Department of Physics

Professor of Physics and Director, High Energy Physics Laboratory.

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission

Consultant and Member, High Energy Physics Advisory Panel.

United States. Department of Defense

Consultant, Advanced Research Projects Agency.

United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development

Director, Project at California Institute of Technology.

University of California, Berkeley. Department of Physics

Assistant Professor and Associate Professor of Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Association for the Advancement of Science

American Physical Society

President.

Argonne National Laboratory

Member, Review Committee, Particle Accelarator Division and High Energy Physics Division.

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Member, Advisory Committee.

Ford Foundation

Member, Nuclear Energy Policy Study.

International Union of Pure and Applied Physics

Member, High Energy Commission and Chair, Commission on Particles and Fields.

JASON Defense Advisory Group

Member, Steering Committee.

Lawrence Radiation Laboratory

Physicist.

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member, Physics Survey Committee; Member and Chair, Senior Advisors, Committee on International Security and Arms Control; and Member, Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China.

National Science Foundation (U.S.)

Member, Physics Panel.

Princeton University. Department of Physics

Received A.B.

Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory

Member, Board of Overseers.

United States. Air Force

Member, Scientific Advisory Board.

United States. Office of Science and Technology Policy

Consultant.

United States. President's Science Advisory Committee

Member.

Universities Research Association (U.S.)

Member, Board of Trustees.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

75th anniversary session of the American Physical Society [sound recording], 1974 April 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Audio and video interviews about the life and work of Richard Garwin, 2004-2012.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Classical electricity and magnetism, 1949.

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Emilio Segre lectures and other collected recordings, 1968-1997.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Joint ceremonial session of the American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers [sound recording], 1963 January 24.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

MAD versus NUTS [videorecording] / given at Princeton University.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

National management of high-energy physics facilities papers, 1964-1965.

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Oral history interview with Wolfgang Kurt Hermann Panofsky, 1973 May 15 and 1974 March 6 and June 3.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Wolfgang Kurt Hermann Panofsky, 1997 April 11 and May 2.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Wolfgang Panofsky, 1996 July 11.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interviews. High-Energy Physics. Probes: Psi Discovery - SLAC-SP-017: An Experimental Survey of Positron-Electron Annihilation into Multi-Particle Final States in the S Range 27-74 GeV-Squared, 1991.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

SLAC Director's Office records of Burton Richter, 1974-[ongoing].

National Accelerator Laboratory. Archives and History Office

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)

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

SLAC Director's Office records of Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky, 1938-[ongoing].

National Accelerator Laboratory. Archives and History Office

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)

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

Symposium of the Forum on Physics and Society [sound recording] : Prize session; 1982 April 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Symposium on Electron Linear Accelerators in honor of Richard B. Neal's 80th birthday [sound recording] / Stanford Linear Accelerator Center ; 1997 September 5.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

The power line situation, 1964

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Wolfgang and Adele Panofsky's diaries of their trips to China, 1977 and 1983.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Wolfgang Panofsky papers, 1932-2008.

National Accelerator Laboratory. Archives, History and Records Office

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)

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

Wolfgang Panofsky papers, 1938-1945.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Draft of April press conference with Joyce (Vice-President Pacific Gas & Electric), Panofsky (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center), Seaborg (Atomic Energy Commission), and Terman (Acting President Stanford), 1964.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Dwight D. Eisenhower papers as President of the United States, 1953-1961.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Library

Abilene, KS 67410, USA

F. W. Loomis papers, 1920-1976.

University Archives

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

1408 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, USA

Hans Frauenfelder response to survey on the impact of immigration on U.S. physics, 1999.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Herbert C. deStaebler papers, 1953-2007.

National Accelerator Laboratory. Archives and History Office

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)

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

Keith Brueckner manuscript biography, 1986.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

LBL Office of the Director records of Edwin M. McMillan [microfilm], 1907-1991.

Archives and Records Office

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

One Cyclotron Road, Bldg. 69-107, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

LBL Office of the Director records of Edwin M. McMillan, 1907-1991.

Pacific Sierra Region

National Archives and Records Administration

1000 Commodore Drive, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA

Oral history interview with Charles Donald Shane, 1978 July 14.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Matthew L. Sands, 1987 May 4 and 5.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Melba Newell Phillips, 1977 December 5.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Val L. Fitch, 1986 December 18.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Pais Prize session: the national laboratories after 1980 [sound recording], 2012 April 2.

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

Robert H. Dicke response to Laser History Project Survey, 1983.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Classical electricity and magnetism / by Wolfgang K.H. Panofsky and Melba Phillips.

Panofsky on physics, politics, and peace : Pief remembers / Wolfgang K.H. Panofsky ; contributing editor, Jean Marie Deken.

Particle physics / by W.H.K. Panofsky and R.H. Dalitz.

Particles and policy / Wolfgang K.H. Panofsky.

Subject

Wolfgang Kurt Hermann Panofsky Physics Today obituary