Richard L. Garwin

Biography

Abstract

Richard L. Garwin is Emeritus Fellow, Thomas J. Watson Research Laboratory International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) (1952-present). Other institutional affiliations include the University of Chicago. His research interests include the hydrogen bomb and gravity waves.

Important Dates

April 19, 1928Birth, Cleveland (Ohio).

1947Obtained BS, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland (Ohio).

1948Obtained MS, University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1949Obtained PhD in Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1949 – 1952Instructor (1949-1951) and Assistant Professor (1952), Department of Physics and Institute for Nuclear Studies, University of Chicago.

1949 – presentConsultant, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

1952 – presentPhysicist (1952-1965); Director of Applied Research (1965-1966); Director (1966-1967); Fellow (1967-1993); and Emeritus Fellow, (1993-present), Thomas J. Watson Research Laboratory, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), New York (N.Y.).

1957 – presentAdjunct Professor of Physics, Columbia University.

1958 – 1962Consultant, President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

1959 – 1960Ford Foundation Fellow, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

1962 – 1965Member, President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

1966Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1966 – 1969Member, Defense Science Board, United States Department of Defense.

1967 – presentMember, JASON Defense Advisory Group.

1969 – 1972Member, President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

1974Visiting Professor of Applied Physics, Harvard University.

1977 – 1985Member, Council, International Institute for Strategic Studies.

1978Chair, Panel on Public Affairs, American Physical Society.

1978Member, National Academy of Engineering.

1979 – 1981Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University.

1983 – 1988Andrew D. White Professor, Columbia University.

1993 – 2001Chair, Arms Control and Nonproliferation Advisory Board, United States Department of State.

1994 – 2004Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow for Science and Technology, Council on Foreign Relations.

1996Awarded Enrico Fermi Award, United States Department of Energy.

2002Awarded National Medal of Science.

Occupation

Nuclear physicist.

Places

Birth

Cleveland (Ohio)

Undergraduate Education

Cleveland (Ohio)

Graduate Education

Chicago (Ill.)

Employment

New York (N.Y.)

Subjects

Arms control.

Gravity waves.

Hydrogen bomb.

Nuclear physics.

Science and industry.

Relationships

People

Family

Garwin, Jeffrey

Son.

Advisors & Collaborators

Fermi, Enrico, 1901-1954

PhD advisor at University of Chicago, "An Experimental Investigation of the Beta-Gamma Angular Correlation in Beta Decay," and both employed at University of Chicago, Institute for Nuclear Studies.

Colleagues

Allison, Samuel King, 1900-1965

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Anderson, A. G. (Arthur George), 1926-

Both employed at IBM.

Anderson, Herbert Lawrence

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Armstrong, J. A. (John A.)

Both employed at IBM.

Awschalom, D. (David)

Both employed at IBM.

Baldeschwieler, John D., 1933-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Bardeen, John

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Bennett, Ivan L., Jr.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Branscomb, Lewis M., 1926-

Both employed by President's Science Advisory Committee.

Brewer, Richard G.

Both employed at IBM.

Brillouin, Léon, 1889-1969

Both employed at IBM.

Bronk, Detlev W. (Detlev Wulf), 1897-1975

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Brooks, Harvey

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Buchsbaum, Solomon J.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Cairns, Theodore L. (Theodore Lesueur), 1914-1994

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Calvin, Melvin, 1911-1997

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Chang, Leroy L.

Both employed at IBM.

Cohen, Morrel H.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Coleman, James S., 1926-1995

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

David, Edward E.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Dempster, Arthur Jeffrey

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Demuth, Joseph, 1946-

Both employed at IBM.

Dolan, Gerald

Both employed at IBM.

Doty, Paul M., 1920-2011

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

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

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

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

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Esaki, Reona, 1925-

Both employed at IBM.

Fang, Frank F.

Both employed at IBM.

Ference, Michael, 1911-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Fitch, Val L., 1923-2015

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Fletcher, James Chipman, 1919-1991

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Franck, James, 1882-1964

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Friedman, Herbert, 1916-2000

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Fritzsche, Hellmut

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Gell-Mann, Murray

Both employed at University of Chicago, Institute for Nuclear Studies.

Goldberger, Marvin L.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Gutzwiller, M. C. (Martin C.)

Both employed at IBM.

Haggerty, Patrick E.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

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

Both employed at IBM.

Handler, Philip, 1917-1981

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Hewlett, William R.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Himpsel, F. J.

Both employed at IBM.

Horn, Paul (Paul M.)

Both employed at IBM.

Hornig, Donald F., 1920-2013

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Kirtley, John R.

Both employed at IBM.

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

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Kryder, Mark H.

Both employed at IBM.

Landauer, Rolf William, 1927-1999

Both employed at IBM.

Lang, Norton D.

Both employed at IBM.

Lieb, Elliott H.

Both employed at IBM.

Loeb, Robert F. (Robert Frederick), 1895-1973

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Louie, Steven G., 1949-

Both employed at IBM.

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

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

McElroy, William David, 1917-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Moynihan, Daniel P. (Daniel Patrick), 1927-2003

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Mulliken, Robert Sanderson

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Olsen, Kenneth H.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Pake, G. E. (George Edward)

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Pierce, John R. (John Robinson), 1910-2002

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Piore, Emanuel Ruben, 1908-2000

Both employed by President's Science Advisory Committee.

Pitzer, Kenneth S. (Kenneth Sanborn), 1914-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Press, Frank, 1924-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Purcell, Edward M.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Rosenfeld, Arthur H., 1926-

Both employed at University of Chicago, Institute for Nuclear Studies.

Seitz, Frederick, 1911-2008

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Simon, Herbert A. (Herbert Alexander), 1916-2001

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Slichter, Charles P.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Smith, Lloyd H., 1924-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Sorokin, Peter P.

Both employed at IBM.

Stiles, Phillip J.

Both employed at IBM.

Tape, Gerald Frederick, 1915-2005

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Telegdi, Val, 1922-2006

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Teller, Edward, 1908-2003

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Tersoff, J.

Both employed at IBM.

Thomas, Llewellyn Hilleth, 1903-1992

Both employed at Thomas J. Watson IBM Research Center.

Townes, Charles H.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Treiman, Sam B.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Tromp, R. M.

Both employed at IBM.

Truxal, John G.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Tsuei, Chang C.

Both employed at IBM.

Tukey, John W. (John Wilder), 1915-2000

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Turner, Howard Sinclair, 1911-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Urey, Harold Clayton, 1893-1981

Both employed at University of Chicago, Institute for Nuclear Studies.

Webb, R. A. (Richard Alan)

Both employed at IBM.

Weinberg, Alvin Martin, 1915-2006

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Wentzel, Gregor, 1898-1978

Both employed at University of Chicago.

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

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Wood, Harland G. (Harland Goff), 1907-1991

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Wyngaarden, James B., 1924-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Yang, Chen Ning, 1922-

Both employed at University of Chicago.

York, Herbert F. (Herbert Frank)

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Zinn, Walter H. (Walter Henry), 1906-2000

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Additional

Agnew, Harold M.

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

Bradbury, Norris, 1909-1997

Charpak, Georges

Frieman, E. A.

Heisenberg, Werner, 1901-1976

Lewis, H. W. (Harold Warren)

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

Rosenbluth, M. N.

Ruina, J. P. (Jack P.)

Szilard, Leo

Taylor, Theodore B., 1925-

Ulam, Stanislaw M.

Von Neumann, John, 1903-1957

Wheeler, John Archibald, 1911-2008

Institutions

Major Positions

Columbia University. Department of Physics

Adjunct Professor of Physics and Andrew D. White Professor.

Harvard University. Department of Physics

Visiting Professor of Applied Physics and Professor of Public Policy.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Consultant.

Thomas J. Watson IBM Research Center

Physicist; Director of Applied Research; Director; Fellow; and Emeritus Fellow.

University of Chicago. Department of Physics

Obtained MS (1948) and PhD in Physics (1949). Instructor and Assistant Professor.

University of Chicago. Institute for Nuclear Studies

Instructor and Assistant Professor.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Physical Society

Chair, Panel on Public Affairs.

Case Institute of Technology

Obtained BS.

Council on Foreign Relations

Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow for Science and Technology.

European Organization for Nuclear Research

Ford Foundation Fellow.

International Institute for Strategic Studies

Member, Council.

JASON Defense Advisory Group

Member.

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

National Academy of Engineering

Member.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

United States. Arms Control and Nonproliferation Advisory Board

Chair.

United States. Defense Science Board

Member.

United States. Department of Energy

Received 1996 Enrico Fermi Award.

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

United States. President's Science Advisory Committee

Member and Consultant.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

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

Discours prononcés lors de la cérémonie en hommage et à la mémoire de Georges Charpak, 2011 March 1.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

History of the G2 from 1947 to Present [sound recording], 2014 April 8.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

I can do that: [videorecording] Hans Bethe's first 60 years at Cornell, executive producer, David H. Rose; producer and writer, Edward Hershey; director, Michael Champlin, 1995.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Richard Garwin and Sidney Drell, 2006 May 5.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Richard L. Garwin, 1986 October 23 to 8 June 1987.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Richard L. Garwin, 1991 June 24.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Richard L. Garwin, 2001 June 7.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Physicists advising on national security [sound recording], 2012 April 1.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Proceedings [sound recording] : papers presented at the Enrico Fermi and the beginnings of nuclear fission Centennial Conference. 2001 November 15 and 16.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Reconsidering the paternity of the H-bomb [sound recording] : an interview with Richard Garwin, on All Things Considered, Public Radio International, 2001 April 25.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Remembering Enrico Fermi [sound recording], 2010 February 14.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Richard Garwin papers, 1947-1996.

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Richard L. Garwin manuscript biographies, circa 1978.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Richard L. Garwin nuclear arms control and disarmament collection, 1963-2011.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Richard L. Garwin papers circa 1949-2007.

IBM Archives

International Business Machines Corporation

Route 100, Somers, NY 10589, USA.

Special colloquium [sound recording] : Arms Control Panel / 1983 April 13.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Words for a world in crisis [sound recording] : Commencement address given at Case Institute of Technology / 1980 May 20.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Finn Aaserud collection on Richard Garwin, 1962-2001.

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 Harold M. Agnew, 2006 May 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Harold Warren Lewis, 1986 July 6.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Herbert F. York, 1975 September 9 and 1976 May 13.

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA, 94720-6000, 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 Richard Garwin, 2012 December 20.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Theodore Brewster Taylor, 1989 April 12.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Valentine L. Telegdi, 2008 March 4 and 9.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

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

Oral history interview with Wolfgang Panofsky, 2004 April 7, 8, 9 and May 3.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

The Many Worlds of Leo Szilard [sound recording], 2014 April 7.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Managing the plutonium surplus : applications and technical options / edited by Richard L. Garwin, Michael Grubb, and Emma Matanle.

Megawatts and megatons : a turning point in the nuclear age? / Richard L. Garwin & Georges Charpak.

Nonlethal technologies : progress and prospects : report of an independent task force / sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations ; Richard L. Garwin, chairman ; W. Montague Winfield, project director.

Subject

Nonlethal weapons and capabilities : report of an independent task force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations / Graham T. Allison and Paul X. Kelley, co-chairs ; Richard L. Garwin, project director.