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PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectMurray Gell-Mann
Dates
September 15, 1929 – May 24, 2019
Authorized Form of Name
Gell-Mann, Murray
Additional Forms of Names
Gell-Mann, M. (Murray)
Gell-Mann, Murray, 1929-
Mann, Murray Gell-
Biography
Abstract
Murray Gell-Mann was Professor and Distinguished Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute (1993-2019). Other institutional affiliations include the California Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago. His research interests include the classification of elementary particles and quarks.
Important Dates
September 15, 1929Birth, New York (N.Y.).
1944 – 1948Obtained BS, Yale University, New Haven (Conn.).
1948 – 1951Obtained PhD in Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).
1951 – 1952Member, Institute for Advanced Study.
1952 – 1954Instructor and Associate Professor, Institute for Nuclear Studies, University of Chicago.
1955 – 2019Associate Professor of Physics (1955-1956); Professor of Physics (1956-1967); Robert A. Millikan Professor, Lauritesen Laboratory for High Energy Physics (1967-1993); and Robert A. Millikan Professor Emeritus, (1993-present), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Calif.).
1959Awarded Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics, American Physical Society.
1960Member, National Academy of Sciences.
1960Fellow, American Physical Society.
1964Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
1969Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics "for his contributions and discoveries concerning the classification of elementary particles and their interactions".
1969 – 1973Member, President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).
1971Member, Board of Directors, AeroVironment, Inc.
1973 – 1979Chair, Board of Trustees, Aspen Center for Physics.
1974 – 1988Citizen Regent, Smithsonian Institution.
1979 – 1981Member, Advisory Board, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara.
1979 – 2002Member, Board of Directors (1979-2002) and Chair, World Environment and Resources Committee (1982-1997), John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
1982 – 2019Laboratory Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
1984 – 1993Member, Board of Directors, California Nature Conservancy.
1984 – 2019Chair, Board of Trustees (1984-1985); Member, Board of Trustees (1984-present); and Co-Chair, Science Board (1985-2000), Santa Fe Institute.
1988 – 2019Member, Science Advisory Committee, Leakey Foundation.
1993Member, American Philosophical Society.
1993 – 2019Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Conservation International.
1993 – 2019Professor and Distinguished Fellow, Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe (N.M.).
1994Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
1994 – 2001Member, President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology.
1994 – 2019Member, Board of Trustees, Wildlife Conservation Society.
1995 – 2019Visiting Professor, University of New Mexico.
1999 – 2019Member, Advisory Board, Network Physics.
May 24, 2019Death, Santa Fe (N.M.).
Occupation
Quantum physicist.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Relationships
People
Family
Gell-Mann, Elizabeth
Daughter.
Gell-Mann, J. Margaret Dow
Wife, married 1955.
Gell-Mann, Nicholas
Son.
Advisors & Collaborators
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.
Advised by Gell-Mann at California Institute of Technology, "The Structure of Strong Interaction Symmetries."
Advised by Gell-Mann at California Institute of Technology, "Complex Angular Momentum in Three-Particle Potential Scattering."
Collaborated on the discovery of quarks.
Weisskopf, Victor Frederick, 1908-2002
PhD advisor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Wilson, Kenneth G. (Kenneth Geddes), 1936-2013
Advised by Gell-Mann at California Institute of Technology, "An investigation of the Low equation and the Chew-Mandelstam equations."
Colleagues
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Allison, Samuel King, 1900-1965
Both employed at University of Chicago, Institute for Nuclear Studies.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Anderson, Carl D. (Carl David), 1905-1991
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Bacher, Robert F. (Robert Fox), 1905-2004
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Baldeschwieler, John D., 1933-
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Barish, B. C. (Barry Clark), 1936-
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Bennett, Ivan L., Jr.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Cairns, Theodore L. (Theodore Lesueur), 1914-1994
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Coleman, James S., 1926-1995
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Drell, Sidney D. (Sidney David), 1926-
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994
Both employed at California Institute of Technology and worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
DuMond, Jesse W. M. (Jesse William Monroe), 1892-1976
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Eisenstein, James P. (James Philip)
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Epstein, Paul S. (Paul Sophus), 1883-1966
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at University of Chicago, Institute for Nuclear Studies.
Feynman, Richard P. (Richard Phillips), 1918-1988
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Fletcher, James Chipman, 1919-1991
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at University of Chicago, Institute for Nuclear Studies.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Both employed at Institute of Technology.
Gould, Roy W. (Roy Walter), 1927-
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Haggerty, Patrick E.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Hellwarth, Robert Willis, 1930-2021
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Hewlett, William R.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Hornig, Donald F., 1920-2013
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Kaspi, Victoria Michelle, 1967-
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Kimble, H. Jeff (Harry Jeffrey), 1949-
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Lauritsen, Charles Christian, 1892-1968
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Low, Francis E. (Francis Eugene), 1921-2007
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
MacDonald, Gordon J. (Gordon James), 1929-2002
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Moynihan, Daniel P. (Daniel Patrick), 1927-2003
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Olsen, Kenneth H.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Robertson, H. P. (Howard Percy), 1903-1961
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at University of Chicago, Institute for Nuclear Studies.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Simon, Herbert A. (Herbert Alexander), 1916-2001
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Smith, Lloyd H., 1924-
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Tape, Gerald Frederick, 1915-2005
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Teukolsky, Saul A. (Saul Arno), 1947-
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Truxal, John G.
Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
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.
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
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.
Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Additional
Barnes, C. A.
Bethe, Hans A. (Hans Albrecht), 1906-2005
Cockcroft, John, Sir, 1897-1967
Dancoff, Sidney M., 1913-1951
Ferris, Timothy
Frautschi, Steven C., 1933-
Hagstrom, Warren O.
Kursunoglu, Behram, 1922-
Marshak, Robert E. (Robert Eugene), 1916-1992
McMillan, Edwin M. (Edwin Mattison), 1907-
Ramakrishna, Alladi
Ruina, J. P. (Jack P.)
Salpeter, Edwin E.
Sciama, D. W. (Dennis William), 1926-
Sharp, D. H. (David Howland), 1938-
Tamm, I. E. (Igor' Evgen'evich), 1895-1971
Tombrello, Thomas A.
Touschek, Bruno, 1921-
Whaling, Ward, 1923-
Wheeler, John Archibald, 1911-2008
Institutions
Major Positions
California Institute of Technology. Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy
Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; Robert A. Millikan Professor, Lauritsen Laboratory for High Energy Physics; and Robert A. Millikan Professor Emeritus.
Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, N.J.)
Member.
Santa Fe Institute (Santa Fe, N.M.)
Chair, Board of Trustees; Member, Board of Trustees; Co-Chair, Science Board; Professor; and Distinguished Fellow.
University of Chicago. Institute for Nuclear Studies
Instructor and Associate Professor.
University of New Mexico. Department of Physics & Astronomy
Visiting Professor.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
AeroVironment Inc.
Member, Board of Directors.
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Fellow.
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellow.
American Philosophical Society
Member.
Received 1959 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics and Fellow.
Aspen Center for Physics
Chair, Board of Trustees.
California Nature Conservancy
Member, Board of Trustees.
Conservation International
Member, Science Advisory Committee.
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Member, Board of Directors and Chair, World Environment and Resources Committee.
L.S.B. Leakey Foundation
Member, Science Advisory Committee.
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Laboratory Fellow.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Obtained PhD in Physics (1951).
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Member.
President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (U.S.)
Member.
Smithsonian Institution
Citizen Regent.
United States. President's Science Advisory Committee
Member.
University of California, Santa Barbara. Institute for Theoretical Physics
Member, Advisory Board.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Department of Physics
Wildlife Conservation Society (New York, N.Y.)
Member, Board of Trustees.
Yale University. Physics Department
Obtained BS (1948).
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
A path through the atomic jungle [sound recording], 1964 April 28.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Aspen Center for Physics oral history interviews, 2004-2008.
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
High energy physics session [sound recording], 1964 April 30.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
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 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
Peoples Archive interviews with physicists, [video recording]
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
QFT and QCD: past, present, and future [videorecording], 2005 March 18 and 19.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Selected talks from the International Conference on the History of Original Ideas and Basic Discoveries in Particle Physics [sound recording] / 1994.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Theoretical views on the new particles [typescript], 1954.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Subject
Alladi Ramakrishna papers (In private hands)
contact Dr. Alladi Ramakrishna
In private hands
Ekamara Niwas, Luz Chruch Road, Madras 600004
Behram Kursunoglu papers, 1967-1978.
Archives Division
University of Miami. Richter Library
Main Library, 8th Floor, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA
Ben Bederson interview of Larry Spruch, Sidney Borowitz and Ed Gerjuoy [videorecording], 26 July 2004.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Bruno Touschek papers, 1947-1978.
Dipartimento di Fisica
Università di Roma "La Sapienza"
Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, 00185 Rome, Italy
Igor E. Tamm papers, 1921-1971.
contact Tamm family
In private hands
Moscow
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 Alvin Virgil Tollestrup, 1994.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with Charles A. Barnes, 1987 July and August.
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 David Pines, 1981 April 13 and 16.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Dennis William Sciama, 1999 June 9.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Edward A. Frieman, 2006 December 4 and 5.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Edwin Ernest Salpeter, 1978 March 30.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Gordon J. MacDonald, 1986 April 16.
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 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 Lincoln Wolfenstein, 1997 April 19.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Murray Gell-Mann, 1987 April 23.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Norman Ramsey, 1978 December 19, 1979 January 5 and 18.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral History interview with Petr Vogel, 2002 December 16 and 2003 January 16.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with Richard Phillips Feynman, 1966 March 4 to 4 February 1973.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Robert Marshak, 1970 June 15, 16, September 19, and October 4.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Roger Frederick Dashen, 1986 July 2.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Steven C. Frautschi, 2003 June 17 and 20.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with Thomas Tombrello, 2010 December 26-31.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, 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 Ward Whaling, 1999 April-May.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Robert B. Leighton papers, 1938-1988 (bulk 1961-1988).
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Robert F. Bacher papers, 1924-1994.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Sidney M. Dancoff papers, 1949-1951.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Timothy Ferris interviews conducted for the television program, The Creation of the Universe, circa 1982-1988.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Warren O. Hagstrom interviews conducted for his book "The Scientific Community," 1960-1961.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
William G. Wagner lecture notes, 1958-1962.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Published Resources
Author
Broken scale invariance and the light cone; Lectures. M. Gell-Mann and K. Wilson, session leaders.
Murray Gell-Mann Academy of Achievement Profile
Murray Gell-Mann Video Autobiographical Interview at Web of Stories
Murray Gell-Mann: Beauty and Truth in Physics
The eightfold way [a review, with a collection of reprints, by] Murray Gell-Mann [and] Yuval Neeman.