Norman Myles Kroll

Biography

Abstract

Norman Myles Kroll was Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of California, San Diego (1962-2004). Other institutional affiliations included Columbia University and the Institute for Advanced Study. His research interests included theoretical physics and quantum electrodynamics.

Important Dates

April 6, 1922Birth, Tulsa (Okla.).

1938 – 1940Took undergraduate humanities classes, Rice University.

1942Obtained AB, Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1943Obtained AM, Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1943 – 1945Researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Radiation Laboratory, Columbia University Satellite.

1948Obtained PhD in Physics, Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1948 – 1950National Research Council (NRC) Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study.

1949 – 1962Assistant Professor to Professor of Physics, Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1955 – 1956Guggenheim Fellow, University of Rome.

1960 – 1981Member, JASON Study Group.

1962 – 2004Professor of Physics (1962-1991); Chair, Department of Physics (1963-1965 and 1983-1988); and Emeritus Professor of Physics (1991-2004), University of California, San Diego, San Diego (Calif.).

1965 – 1966National Science Foundation (NSF) Senior Fellow, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

1974Member, National Academy of Sciences.

August 8, 2004Death, La Jolla (San Diego, Calif.).

Occupation

Theoretical physicist.

Places

Birth

Tulsa (Okla.)

Undergraduate Education

Houston (Tex.)

New York (N.Y.)

Graduate Education

New York (N.Y.)

Employment

New York (N.Y.)

San Diego (Calif.)

Death

La Jolla (San Diego, Calif.)

Subjects

Atomic and molecular physics.

Quantum electrodynamics.

Theoretical physics.

Relationships

People

Family

Altfeld, Vivian Kroll

Sister.

Kroll, Cornelius Neil

Father.

Kroll, Cynthia A.

Daughter.

Kroll, Grace Aaronson

Mother.

Kroll, Heather Roma

Daughter.

Kroll, Ira Joseph

Son.

Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974

Uncle.

Kroll, Linda Ruth

Daughter.

Kroll, Lionel

Brother.

Kroll, Sally Ruth Sharlot

Wife.

Advisors & Collaborators

Burnett, Thompson Humphrey, 1941-

Advised by Kroll at University of California, San Diego, "Proton-proton bremsstrahlung."

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

PhD advisor at Columbia University, "The Resonant Modes of the Rising Sun and Other Unstrapped Magnetron Anode Blocks," and both employed at Columbia University.

Wichmann, Eyvind H. (Eyvind Hugo), 1928-

Advised by Kroll at Columbia University, "Vacuum polarization in a strong Coulomb field."

Colleagues

Agnew, Harold M.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Alfvén, Hannes

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Balluffi, R. W.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Boehm, Felix

Both employed at Columbia University.

Booker, Henry G.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Booth, Eugene

Both employed at Columbia University.

Brillouin, Léon, 1889-1969

Both employed at Columbia University.

Brown, Harold, 1927-2019

Both employed at Columbia University.

Brueckner, Keith A.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Case, Kenneth M.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Charney, Jule G.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Commins, Eugene D.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Coppi, B.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Cummins, Herman Z., 1933-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Dashen, Roger F.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Davis, Bergen, 1869-1958

Both employed at Columbia University.

Devons, Samuel

Both employed at Columbia University.

DeWitt, Bryce S. (Bryce Seligman), 1923-2004

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Dunning, John R. (John Ray), 1907-1975

Both employed at Columbia University.

Dynes, Robert C.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Dyson, Freeman J.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Eigler, Donald

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Elsasser, Walter M., 1904-

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Feher, George, 1924-

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Feinberg, Gerald, 1933-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Fisk, Zachary

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Foley, Henry Michael, 1917-1982

Both employed at Columbia University.

Frosch, Robert A. (Robert Alan), 1928-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Glauber, Roy J., 1925-

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Goldberger, Marvin L.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Goldhaber, Gerson

Both employed at Columbia University.

Haldane, F. Duncan M.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Hellman, Frances

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Henley, Ernest M.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Hughes, Vernon W.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Javan, Ali, 1926-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kinoshita, T. (Toichiro)

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kohn, Walter, 1923-2016

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Kraichnan, Robert H., 1928-2008

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study and Columbia University.

Kusch, Polykarp, 1911-1993

Both employed at Columbia University.

Lang, Norton D.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Lederman, Leon M.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Lee, T. D., 1926-

Both employed at Columbia University.

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

Both employed at Columbia University and the Institute for Advanced Study.

Luttinger, Joaquin M.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Malmberg, J. H.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Mandelstam, Stanley

Both employed at Columbia University.

Maple, M. Brian, 1939-

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Matthias, Bernd T., 1918-1980

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Mayer, Maria Goeppert, 1906-1972

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Mermin, N. David

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Merzbacher, Eugen

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Morse, Marston, 1892-1977

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Nelson, Ann E. (Ann Elizabeth)

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Novick, Robert

Both employed at Columbia University.

O'Neil, T. M. (Thomas Michael), 1940-

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Onuchic, José

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Pegram, George Braxton, 1876-1958

Both employed at Columbia University.

Pekeris, C. L. (Chaim Leib), 1908-1993

Both employed at Columbia University.

Press, Frank, 1924-

Both employed at Columbia University.

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

Both employed at Columbia University.

Rainwater, L. James (Leo James), 1917-1986

Both employed at Columbia University.

Rice, Thomas Maurice, 1939-

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Rosenbluth, M. N.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Rostoker, Norman

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Ruderman, Malvin A.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Sachs, Allan M. (Allan Maxwell), 1921-1989

Both employed at Columbia University.

Samios, Nicholas P.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Columbia University.

Schwartz, Melvin, 1932-2006

Both employed at Columbia University.

Segal, Irving Ezra

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Serber, R. (Robert)

Both employed at Columbia University.

Sham, L. J.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Steinberger, J.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study and Columbia University.

Suhl, Harry

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Thomas, Llewellyn Hilleth, 1903-1992

Both employed at Columbia University.

Townes, Charles H.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Von Neumann, John, 1903-1957

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Watson, Kenneth M.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Webb, R. A. (Richard Alan)

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Weeks, John David

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Weinberg, Steven, 1933-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Weyl, Hermann, 1885-1955

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Wheatley, John Charles

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Wu, C. S. (Chien-shiung), 1912-1997

Both employed at Columbia University.

Yang, Chen Ning, 1922-

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

York, Herbert F. (Herbert Frank)

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Additional

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

Bloembergen, N.

Broecker, Wallace S., 1931-2019

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

Joshi, Chandrashekhar

Rutherford, Ernest, 1871-1937

Schwinger, Julian, 1918-1994

Institutions

Major Positions

Columbia University. Department of Physics

Obtained AB (1942), AM (1943), and PhD in Physics (1948). Assistant Professor of Physics and Professor of Physics.

JASON Defense Advisory Group

Member.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Radiation Laboratory

Researcher, Columbia University Satellite.

University of California, San Diego. Department of Physics

Professor of Physics; Chair, Department of Physics; and Emeritus Professor of Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

European Organization for Nuclear Research

National Science Foundation (NSF) Senior Fellow.

IBM Research

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

National Research Council (NRC) Fellow.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Rice University

Took undergraduate humanities courses.

Università di Roma

Guggenheim Fellow.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Oral History interview with Norman M. Kroll, 1986 June 28.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Norman M. Kroll, 1987 March 29.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Oral history interview with Wallace S. Broecker, 1995 December 29, 1997 May 8 and June 6.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Subject

"The Consultants: Nonlinear Optics and the Social World of Cold War Science," Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences 45 (2015): 758-804

National Academy of Sciences biographical memoir.

Norman Myles Kroll Physics Today obituary.