Robert Hofstadter

Biography

Abstract

Robert Hofstadter was Emeritus Professor of Physics at Stanford University (1950-1990). Other institutional affiliations include Princeton University and Norden Laboratory Corporation. His research interests included the structure of nucleons and gamma rays.

Important Dates

February 5, 1915Birth, New York (N.Y.).

1935Obtained BS, College of the City of New York, New York (N.Y.).

1938Obtained MA and PhD Physics, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1938 – 1939Procter Fellow, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1939 – 1941Harrison Fellow (1939-1940) and Instructor in Physics (1940-1941), University of Pennsylvania.

1941 – 1942Instructor, College of the City of New York.

1942 – 1943Physicist, National Bureau of Standards.

1943 – 1946Physicist and Section Chief, Norden Laboratory Corporation.

1946 – 1950Assistant Professor of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1950 – 1990Associate Professor to Professor of Physics (1950-1971); Max H. Stein Professor of Physics (1971-1985); and Emeritus Professor of Physics (1985-1990), Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).

1958Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1961Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics "for his pioneering studies of electron scattering in atomic nuclei and for his thereby achieved discoveries concerning the structure of the nucleons".

1972 – 1980Consultant on laser fusion, KMS Fusion.

1986Awarded National Medal of Science.

November 17, 1990Death, Stanford (Calif.).

Occupation

Nuclear physicist.

Places

Birth

New York (N.Y.)

Undergraduate Education

New York (N.Y.)

Graduate Education

Princeton (N.J.)

Employment

Princeton (N.J.)

Stanford (Calif.)

Death

Stanford (Calif.)

Subjects

Atomic and molecular physics.

Electrons -- scattering.

Gamma ray spectrometry.

Nuclear physics.

Particles (Nuclear physics).

Relationships

People

Family

Hofstadter, Douglas, 1945-

Son.

Hofstadter, George

Brother.

Hofstadter, Henrietta Koenigsberg

Mother.

Hofstadter, Laura

Daughter.

Hofstadter, Louis

Father.

Hofstadter, Molly

Daughter.

Hofstadter, Nancy Givan

Wife, married in 1942.

Hofstadter, Shirley

Sister.

Advisors & Collaborators

Barnes, Robert Bowling, 1906-

PhD advisor at Princeton University, "Infrared Absorption by Light and Heavy Formic and Acetic Acids." Note that Hofstadter completed significant portions of PhD without advisor due to Dr. Barnes departing Princeton.

Condon, Edward Uhler, 1902-1974

PhD advisor at Princeton University, "Infrared Absorption by Light and Heavy Formic and Acetic Acids." Note that Hofstadter completed significant portions of PhD without advisor due to Dr. Condon departing Princeton.

Colleagues

Adelberger, Eric G.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Bardeen, William A.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Bargmann, V. (Valentine), 1908-1989

Both employed at Princeton University.

Beasley, Malcolm

Both employed at Stanford University.

Bjorken, James D.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Bleakney, Walker, 1901-1992

Both employed at Princeton University.

Bloch, Felix, 1905-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Bohm, David, 1917-1992

Both employed at Princeton University.

Bradbury, Norris, 1909-1997

Both employed at Stanford University.

Briggs, Lyman J. (Lyman James), 1874-1963

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Cabrera, Blas

Both employed at Stanford University.

Chodorow, Marvin

Both employed at City College of New York.

Chu, Steven

Both employed at Stanford University.

Coblentz, William W. (William Weber), 1873-1962

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Creutz, E.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Dicke, Robert H. (Robert Henry)

Both employed at Princeton University.

Dorfan, Jonathan

Both employed at Stanford University.

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Dryden, Hugh L. (Hugh Latimer), 1898-1965

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Eisenhart, Luther Pfahler, 1876-1965

Both employed at Princeton University.

Fairbank, William Martin, 1917-1989

Both employed at Stanford University.

Fetter, Alexander L., 1937-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Freedman, Stuart J.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Friedman, Jerome I. (Jerome Isaac), 1930-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Frieman, E. A.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Glashow, Sheldon L.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Greene, Christopher Henry

Both employed at Stanford University.

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Hänsch, T. W. (Theo W.), 1941-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Henley, Ernest M.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Holstein, Theodore David, 1915-1985

Both employed at City College of New York.

Jaffe, Arthur, 1937-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Kendall, Henry W. (Henry Way), 1926-1999

Both employed at Stanford University.

Kirkpatrick, Paul

Both employed at Stanford University.

Klebanoff, P. S.

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Laughlin, Robert B.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Linde, A. D.

Both employed at Stanford University.

McLean, William B. (William Burdette), 1914-1976

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Meggers, William F. (William Frederick), 1888-1966

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Meyerhof, Walter E. (Walter Ernst), 1922-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Neddermeyer, Seth H. (Seth Henry), 1907-1988

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Nelson, Ann E. (Ann Elizabeth)

Both employed at Stanford University.

Osheroff, Douglas D.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Pake, G. E. (George Edward)

Both employed at Stanford University.

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Richter, Burton, 1931-2018

Both employed at Stanford University.

Robertson, H. P. (Howard Percy), 1903-1961

Both employed at Princeton University.

Rosenbluth, M. N.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Stanford University.

Schiff, Leonard I. (Leonard Isaac), 1915-1971

Both employed at University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University.

Schubauer, Galen B. (Galen Brandt), 1904-

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Schwartz, Melvin, 1932-2006

Both employed at Stanford University.

Seitz, Frederick, 1911-2008

Both employed at University of Pennsylvania.

Shenstone, A. G. (Allen Goodrich)

Both employed at Princeton University.

Smith, Neville, 1942-2006

Both employed at Stanford University.

Smyth, Henry De Wolf, 1898-1986

Both employed at Princeton University.

Sprouse, Gene D.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Susskind, Leonard

Both employed at Stanford University.

Teller, Edward, 1908-2003

Both employed at Stanford University.

Terman, Frederick Emmons, 1900-1982

Both employed at Stanford University.

Turner, Michael Stanley

Both employed at Stanford University.

Walecka, John Dirk, 1932-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Webster, David Locke, 1888-1976

Both employed at Stanford University.

Wheeler, John Archibald, 1911-2008

Both employed at Princeton University.

White, Robert M., 1938-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Wightman, A. S. (Arthur Strong), 1922-2013

Both employed at Princeton University.

Wigner, Eugene Paul, 1902-1995

Both employed at Princeton University.

Will, Clifford M., 1946-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Wojcicki, Stanley G., 1937-

Both employed at Stanford University.

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

Both employed at City College of New York.

Additional

Alpher, Ralph, 1921-2007

Cardman, L. S.

Gittelman, Bernard, 1932-

Herman, Robert, 1914-

McIntyre, John Armin, 1920-

Mössbauer, Rudolf L. (Rudolf Ludwig), 1929-

Both awarded 1961 Nobel Prize in Physis for separate projects.

Rohrlich, F.

Wilson, Robert R., 1914-2000

Both employed at Princeton University.

Institutions

Major Positions

College of the City of New York (1926-1961). City College. Physics Department

Obtained BS (1935) and Instructor.

KMS Fusion, Inc.

Consultant on Laser Fusion.

Norden Laboratory Corporation

Physicist and Section Chief.

Princeton University. Department of Physics

Obtained MA and PhD in Physics (1938). Procter Fellow and Assistant Professor of Physics.

Stanford University. Department of Physics

Associate Professor to Professor of Physics; Max H. Stein Professor of Physics; and Emeritus Professor of Physics.

United States. National Bureau of Standards

Physicist.

University of Pennsylvania. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Harrison Fellow and Instructor in Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Nobel laureates on scientific research project : oral history, 1964.

Oral History Research Office

Columbia University

Box 20, Room 801 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027, USA

Reminiscences of Robert L. Hofstadter : oral history, 1964.

Oral History Research Office

Columbia University

Box 20, Room 801 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027, USA

Robert Hofstadter papers, 1938-1990.

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Robert Hofstadter response to 1988 History of Nuclear Physics Survey, 1985-1988.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Stanford University Department of Physics records, 1966-1985 (bulk 1971-1985).

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Subject

Bloch symposium: a Stanford centennial symposium celebrating the work of Felix Bloch [video recording], 1989.

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Fritz Rohrlich correspondence, 1946-1955.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

John Armin McIntyre response to 1981 History of Nuclear Physics Survey, 1982.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Bernard Gittelman, 1996 August 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Larry S. Cardman and J. Dirk Walecka, 2013 August 8.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Ralph Alpher and second session is joint interview with Robert Herman, 1983 August 11 and 12.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Wolfgang Kurt Hermann Panofsky, 1973 May 15 and 1974 March 6 and June 3.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

The Princeton years and beyond, 1930-1940: Invited paper for the March 1992 meeting of the American Physical Society, 1992.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

"Learning about Nucleon Resonances with Pion Photoproduction," in Pions to Quarks: Particle Physics in the 1950s, ed. Laurie M. Brown, Max Dresden, and Lillian Hoddeson (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press: 1989), 126-143

Subject

Foreward to the Collected Works of Robert Hofstadter.

Jerome I. Friedman and William A. Little, "Robert Hofstadter: 1915-1990", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences

Robert Hofstadter Physics Today obituary.

Robert L. Hofstadter Nobel Prize biography.