Keith A. Brueckner

Biography

Abstract

Keith Brueckner made important contributions to physics including the many-body theory in condensed matter physics. In 1959, he became a professor at the University of California, San Diego. He was the first chair of the university's physics department and he was also the inaugural director of the Institute for Radiation Physics and Aerodynamics.

Important Dates

March 19, 1924Birth, Minneapolis (Minn.).

1945Obtained BA in Mathematics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (Minn.).

1947Obtained MA in Mathematics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (Minn.).

1950Obtained PhD in Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley (Calif.).

1950 – 1951Member, Institute for Advanced Study.

1951 – 1955Assistant Professor of Physics (1951-1954) and Associate Professor of Physics (1954-1955), Indiana University.

1953 – 1970Consultant, United States Atomic Energy Commission.

1955 – 1956Physicist, Brookhaven National Laboratory.

1956 – 1959Professor of Physics, University of Pennsylvania.

1959 – 2014Professor of Physics (1959-1991); Dean, Letters and Sciences (1963-1965); Dean, Graduate Studies (1965); Chair, Department of Physics (1959-1961); Director, Institute for Radiation Physics and Aerodynamics (1965-1967); Director, Institute for Pure and Applied Physical Sciences (1967-1969); and Emeritus Professor of Physics (1991-2014), University of California, San Diego, La Jolla (San Diego, Calif.).

1961 – 1962Vice President and Director of Research, Institute for Defense Analyses.

1963Awarded Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics, American Physical Society.

1968Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1968 – 1970Vice President and Technical Director, KMS Industries (part of KMS Fusion, Inc.).

1969Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1971 – 1974Executive Vice President, KMS Fusion, Inc.

September 19, 2014Death.

Occupation

Condensed matter physicist.

Places

Birth

Minneapolis (Minn.)

Undergraduate Education

Minneapolis (Minn.)

Graduate Education

Minneapolis (Minn.)

Berkeley (Calif.)

Employment

La Jolla (San Diego, Calif.)

Subjects

Condensed matter.

Laser fusion.

Science and state.

Science consultants.

Weapons industry.

Relationships

People

Family

Brueckner, Bonnie

Wife.

Advisors & Collaborators

Gell-Mann, Murray

Collaborated to show that the random phase approximation (RPA) can be derived by summing a series of Feynman diagrams and both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Serber, R. (Robert)

Ph.D. advisor at University of California, Berkeley.

Colleagues

Adair, Robert K., 1924-

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Agnew, Harold M.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Booker, Henry G.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Burstein, Elias, 1917-2017

Both employed at University of Pennsylvania.

Callen, Herbert B.

Both employed at University of Pennsylvania.

Charney, Jule G.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Cool, Rodney L. (Rodney Lee), 1920-1988

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Coppi, B.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

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

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Dashen, Roger F.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Davis, Raymond, 1914-2006

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

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

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Dynes, Robert C.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

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.

Fisk, Zachary

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Frazer, Benjamin Chalmers

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Glauber, Roy J., 1925-

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Goldhaber, Gertrude S. -1998

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Goldhaber, Maurice, 1911-2011

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Goudsmit, Samuel A. (Samuel Abraham), 1902-1978

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Haldane, F. Duncan M.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Haworth, Leland J. (Leland John), 1904-

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Hellman, Frances

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

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.

Kroll, Norman Myles, 1922-

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Lang, Norton D.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Lee, T. D., 1926-

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

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

Both employed at Institute for Advanced Study.

Luttinger, Joaquin M.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study and University of Pennsylvania.

Malmberg, J. H.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

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, Joseph Edward, 1904-

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.

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.

Prager, William, 1903-1980

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Revelle, Roger, 1909-1991

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

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.

Schwartz, Melvin, 1932-2006

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Sham, L. J.

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Suhl, Harry

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Tape, Gerald Frederick, 1915-2005

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Urey, Harold Clayton, 1893-1981

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Vineyard, G. H.

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Watson, Kenneth M.

Both employed at Indiana University.

Webb, R. A. (Richard Alan)

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Weeks, John David

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

Weyl, Hermann, 1885-1955

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Wheatley, John Charles

Both employed at University of California, San Diego.

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

Alvarez, Luis W., 1911-1988

Arnold, James, 1923-

Frieman, E. A.

Lawrence, Ernest Orlando, 1901-1958

Löwdin, Per-Olov, 1916-2000

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

Munk, Walter H. (Walter Heinrich), 1917-

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

Ruina, J. P. (Jack P.)

Schrieffer, J. R. (John Robert), 1931-

Segrè, Emilio

Sharp, D. H. (David Howland), 1938-

Teller, Edward, 1908-2003

Von Neumann, John, 1903-1957

Wheeler, John Archibald, 1911-2008

Institutions

Major Positions

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Physicist.

Indiana University, Bloomington. Department of Physics

Assistant Professor of Physics and Associate Professor of Physics.

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

Member.

Institute for Defense Analyses

Vice President and Director of Research.

KMS Fusion, Inc.

Vice President and Technical Director (KMS Industries), and Executive Vice President.

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission

Consultant.

University of California, San Diego

Dean, Graduate Studies and Dean, Letters and Sciences.

University of California, San Diego. Department of Physics

Helped found the Department; Professor of Physics; Chair, Department of Physics; Emeritus Professor of Physics.

University of California, San Diego. Institute for Pure and Applied Physical Sciences

Director.

University of California, San Diego. Institute for Radiation Physics and Aerodynamics

Director.

University of Pennsylvania. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Professor of Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

American Physical Society

1963 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics recipient.

Lawrence Radiation Laboratory

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

University of California, Berkeley. Department of Physics

Obtained PhD in 1950.

University of Minnesota. Department of Mathematics

Obtained BA in 1945 and MA in 1947.

University of Minnesota. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Keith A. Brueckner administrative records, 1959-1970.

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Keith A. Brueckner papers, 1949-1983.

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Keith A. Brueckner typescript of "First years at the University of California at San Diego, 1959 to 1965," 1994.

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Keith Brueckner manuscript biography, 1986.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with James Arnold and Keith Brueckner, 1998 June 10.

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Oral history interview with Keith A. Brueckner, 2008 April 25.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Keith Allan Brueckner, 1986 July 2.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Murray Gell-Mann papers, 1931-2001 (bulk 1955-1993).

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

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

Oral history interview with D. H. Sharp, 1993 July 23.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with E. A. Frieman, 1986 June 26.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Herbert F. York, 1986 February 7.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Herbert F. York, 2008 April 24.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Jack P. Ruina, 1991 August 8.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with John Archibald Wheeler, 1988 May 4, May 23 and November 28.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with John Robert Schrieffer, 1974 September 26 and 1976 January 19.

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 Murray Gell-Mann, 1982 July 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Murray Gell-Mann, 1997 July 17 and 18.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

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

Oral history interview with Per Olov Löwdin, 1975 January 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Ray E. Kidder, 2008 April 29.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Robert Serber, 1967 February 10.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Walter H. Munk, 1986 June 30.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Roger Revelle sound recordings, 1984.

Archives

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Mail Code C-075-C. La Jolla, CA 92093-0175, USA

Published Resources

Author

Inertial confinement fusion / K.A. Brueckner, editor-in-chief.

Subject

Keith Brueckner Physics Today obituary.