Ernest D. Courant

Biography

Abstract

Ernest Courant is a physicist and contributor to particle accelerator concepts. He worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory for many years (1948-1989) and is also a member the National Academy of Sciences. His other institutional affiliations include the National Research Council Canada, University of Rochester, and Stony Brook University.

Important Dates

March 26, 1920Birth, Göttingen (Germany).

1940Obtained BS, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore (Pa.).

1942Obtained MS in Physics, University of Rochester, Rochester (N.Y.).

1943Obtained PhD in Physics, University of Rochester, Rochester (N.Y.).

1943 – 1946Science Officer, National Research Council Canada.

1946 – 1948Research Associate in Theoretical Physics, Cornell University.

1947 – 1948Consultant, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton (N.Y.).

1948 – presentAssociate Physicist to Physicist (1948-1960); Senior Physicist (1960-1989); and Distinguished Emeritus Scientist (1990-present), Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton (N.Y.).

1950 – 1951Visiting Assistant Professor, Princeton University.

1956Fulbright Fellow, Cambridge University.

1958Consultant, General Atomics (GA).

1961 – 1962Visiting Professor, Yale University.

1967 – 1985Professor, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook (N.Y.).

1968 – 1969Visiting Physicist, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

1974Visiting Scientist, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

1976 Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1987Awarded Enrico Fermi Award, United States Department of Energy.

1987Awarded Robert R. Wilson Prize for Achievement in the Physics of Particle Accelerators, American Physical Society.

1990 – 1993Consultant, Superconducting Super Collider.

Occupation

Accelerator physicist.

Places

Birth

Göttingen (Germany)

Undergraduate Education

Swarthmore (Pa.)

Graduate Education

Rochester (N.Y.)

Employment

Upton (N.Y.)

Stony Brook (N.Y.)

Subjects

Particle accelerators.

Relationships

People

Family

Berkowitz, Leonore Courant

Sister.

Courant, Hans Wolfgang Julius

Brother.

Courant, Nina Runge

Mother.

Courant, Richard, 1888-1972

Father.

Moser, Gertrude Courant

Sister.

Colleagues

Adair, Robert K., 1924-

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Aronson, Samuel, 1942-

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

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

Both employed at Cornell University.

Bardeen, William A.

Both employed at State University of New York at Stony Brook.

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

Both employed at Cornell University.

Blume, Martin, 1932-

Both employed at State University of New York at Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Brown, G. E. (Gerald Edward), 1926-

Both employed at State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Brueckner, Keith A.

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Casten, R.

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

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

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Coppersmith, Susan Nan

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Corson, Dale R.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Cronin, James W., 1931-2016

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Davis, J. C. Séamus

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Davis, Raymond, 1914-2006

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Dolan, Gerald

Both employed at State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Dyson, Freeman J.

Both employed at Cornell University.

Emery, V. J. (Victor J.)

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Feibelman, Peter J.

Both employed at State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Feinberg, Gerald, 1933-

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

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

Both employed at Cornell University.

Frazer, Benjamin Chalmers

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Freedman, Daniel Z.

Both employed at State University of New York at Stony Brook.

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.

Greisen, Kenneth

Both employed at Cornell University.

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

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Johnson, Peter D., 1952-

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Krumhansl, J. A. (James A.)

Both employed at Cornell University.

Livingston, M. Stanley (Milton Stanley)

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Marburger, John H., III (John Harmen), 1941-2011

Both employed at State University of New York at Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

McCoy, Barry M.

Both employed at State University of New York at Stony Brook.

McTague, John P.

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Merritt, Ernest, 1865-1948

Both employed at Cornell University.

Morse, Philip M. (Philip McCord), 1903-1985

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Palmer, Robert B., 1934-

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Poskanzer, A. M. (Arthur M.), 1931-

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Samios, Nicholas P.

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Schwartz, Melvin, 1932-2006

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Shirane, G.

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Sprouse, Gene D.

Both employed at State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Tape, Gerald Frederick, 1915-2005

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Van Nieuwenhuizen, Peter

Both employed at State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Vineyard, G. H.

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Warburton, Ernest Keeling

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Wick, G. C. (Gian Carlo)

Both employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Yang, Chen Ning, 1922-

Both employed at State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Additional

Apker, LeRoy Woodard

Fellow graduate students at University of Rochester.

Institutions

Major Positions

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Associate Physicist to Physicist; Senior Physicist; Consultant; and Distinguished Emeritus Scientist.

Cornell University. Department of Physics

Research Associate in Theoretical Physics.

National Research Council of Canada

Science Officer.

Princeton University. Department of Physics

Visiting Assistant Professor.

State University of New York at Stony Brook. Department of Physics

Professor.

Yale University. Physics Department

Visiting Professor.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Physical Society

Received 1987 Robert R. Wilson Prize for Achievement in the Physics of Particle Accelerators.

European Organization for Nuclear Research

Visiting Scientist.

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Visiting Physicist.

GA (Series) (San Diego, Calif.)

Consultant.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory

Consultant.

Swarthmore College

Obtained BS in 1940.

United States. Department of Energy

Received 1987 Enrico Fermi Award.

University of Cambridge

Fulbright Fellow.

University of Rochester. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Obtained MS in 1942 and PhD in 1943.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Keynote address and awards ceremony [sound recording]

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Brookhaven National Laboratory interview transcripts, 1966-1986.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Milton Stanley Livingston, 1967 August 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Early History of the Cosmotron and AGS at Brookhaven, in Pions to Quarks: Particle Physics in the 1950s, ed. Laurie M. Brown, Max Dresden, and Lillian Hoddeson (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press: 1989), 180-184.