T. D. Lee

Biography

Abstract

Tsung-Dao Lee is University Professor at Columbia University (1984-present). Other institutional affiliations include the Institute for Advanced Study and the University of Chicago. His research interests include elementary particles, statistical mechanics, field theory, astrophysics, condensed matter physics, and turbulence.

Important Dates

November 24, 1926Birth, Shanghai (China).

1943 – 1944Studied at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou (China).

1945Studied at National Southwest Associated University, Changsha (Hunan Sheng, China).

1946 – 1949Graduate studies at University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1950Obtained PhD, University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1950Research Associate in Astronomy, University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1950 – 1951Research Associate and Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley.

1951 – 1953Member, Institute for Advanced Study.

1953 – 1960Assistant Professor of Physics (1953-1955); Associate Professor of Physics (1955-1956); and Professor of Physics (1956-1960), Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1957Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics with Chen Ning Yang "for their penetrating investigation of the so-called parity laws which has led to important discoveries regarding the elementary particles".

1959Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1960 – 1963Professor, Institute for Advanced Study.

1962Member, American Philosophical Society.

1963 – presentProfessor of Physics (1964-1964); Enrico Fermi Professor of Physics (1964-1984); and University Professor (1984-present), Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1964Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1985 – 1993Member, Board of Trustees, Institute for Advanced Study.

1986 – presentDirector, Beijing Institute of Modern Physics.

1986 – presentDirector, China Center of Advanced Science and Technology.

1988 – presentDirector, Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics.

1990 – presentMember, Board of Governors, Tel Aviv University.

1997 – 2003Director, RIKEN Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Research Center.

Occupation

Particle physicist.

Places

Birth

Shanghai (China)

Undergraduate Education

Hangzhou (China)

Changsha (Hunan Sheng, China)

Graduate Education

Chicago (Ill.)

Employment

New York (N.Y.)

Subjects

Astrophysics.

Condensed matter.

Elementary particles.

Field theory (Physics).

Particles (Nuclear physics).

Statistical mechanics.

Turbulence.

Relationships

People

Family

Chang, Ming-Chang

Mother.

Chin, Hui-Chun

Wife. Married in 1950.

Lee, Tsin-Kong

Father.

Advisors & Collaborators

Christ, Norman

Advised by Lee at Columbia University, "Possible Tests of the Cst and Tst Invariance of Electromagnetic Phenomena."

Feinberg, Gerald, 1933-

Advised by Lee at Columbia University, "Meson production in nucleon-nucleon collisions," and both employed at Columbia University.

Fermi, Enrico, 1901-1954

PhD advisor at University of Chicago, "Hydrogen content and energy-productive mechanism of white dwarfs."

Colleagues

Al'tshuler, B. L.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Alvarez, Luis W., 1911-1988

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Balluffi, R. W.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Birge, Raymond T. (Raymond Thayer), 1887-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Boehm, Felix

Both employed at Columbia University.

Booth, Eugene

Both employed at Columbia University.

Brillouin, Léon, 1889-1969

Both employed at Columbia University.

Brode, Robert B. (Robert Bigham), 1900-1986

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Brueckner, Keith A.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Case, Kenneth M.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Chamberlain, O. (Owen)

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Chandrasekhar, S. (Subrahmanyan), 1910-1995

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Charney, Jule G.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Chaudhari, Praveen, 1937-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Chew, Geoffrey F.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Commins, Eugene D.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Cummins, Herman Z., 1933-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Davis, Bergen, 1869-1958

Both employed at Columbia University.

Deser, S. (Stanley)

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Devons, Samuel

Both employed at Columbia University.

Dunning, John R. (John Ray), 1907-1975

Both employed at Columbia University.

Dyson, Freeman J.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Foley, Henry Michael, 1917-1982

Both employed at Columbia University.

Frosch, Robert A. (Robert Alan), 1928-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Gell-Mann, Murray

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Glauber, Roy J., 1925-

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Glimm, James

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Goldhaber, Gerson

Both employed at Columbia University.

Guth, Alan H.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Happer, William, 1939-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Hartle, J. B. (James B.)

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Helmholz, August Carl, 1915-2003

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Henley, Ernest M.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Javan, Ali, 1926-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kahn, Steven Michael

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kinoshita, T. (Toichiro)

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study and Columbia University.

Kittel, Charles

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Kraichnan, Robert H., 1928-2008

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kroll, Norman Myles, 1922-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kusch, Polykarp, 1911-1993

Both employed at Columbia University.

Lawrence, Ernest Orlando, 1901-1958

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Lederman, Leon M.

Both employed at Columbia University.

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

Both employed at Institute for Advanced Study.

Luttinger, Joaquin M.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Mandelstam, Stanley

Both employed at Columbia University.

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

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Merzbacher, Eugen

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Millis, Andrew J.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Morse, Marston, 1892-1977

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Moyer, Burton J., 1912-1973

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Nagamiya, S. (Shoji)

Both employed at Columbia University.

Nambu, Yoichiro, 1921-2015

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Nierenberg, William Aaron, 1919-2000

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Novick, Robert

Both employed at Columbia University.

Nygren, David R.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

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

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Pegram, George Braxton, 1876-1958

Both employed at Columbia University.

Peoples, John, Jr.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Pinczuk, Aron

Both employed at Columbia University.

Press, Frank, 1924-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Rabi, I. I. (Isidor Isaac), 1898-1988

Both employed at Columbia University.

Rainwater, L. James (Leo James), 1917-1986

Both employed at Columbia University.

Reynolds, John Hamilton, 1923-2000

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Ross, Frank E. (Frank Elmore), 1874-1960

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Ruderman, Malvin A.

Both employed at Columbia University and University of California, Berkeley.

Sachs, Allan M. (Allan Maxwell), 1921-1989

Both employed at Columbia University.

Samios, Nicholas P.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Schwartz, Melvin, 1932-2006

Both employed at Columbia University.

Sciulli, Frank J.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Segrè, Emilio

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Serber, R. (Robert)

Both employed at Columbia University.

Steinberger, J.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University.

Störmer, Horst

Both employed at Columbia University.

Thomas, Llewellyn Hilleth, 1903-1992

Both employed at Columbia University.

Ting, S. C. C. (Samuel Chao-chung), 1936-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Townes, Charles H.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Von Neumann, John, 1903-1957

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Watson, Kenneth M.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Weinberg, Erick J.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Weinberg, Steven, 1933-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Weyl, Hermann, 1885-1955

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Wick, G. C. (Gian Carlo)

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University.

Wilson, Robert R., 1914-2000

Both employed at Columbia University.

Wu, C. S. (Chien-shiung), 1912-1997

Both employed at Columbia University.

Wu, Tai Tsun

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Yang, Chen Ning, 1922-

Shared 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics "for their penetrating investigation of the so-called parity laws which has led to important discoveries regarding the elementary particles" and both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

York, Herbert F. (Herbert Frank)

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Additional

Blewett, John P. (John Paul), 1910-

Fisher, Leon H. (Leon Harold), 1918-

Pines, David, 1924-2018

Ramsey, Norman, 1915-2011

Reich, Haskell Aaron, 1926-1983

Veltman, Martinus

Wu, Ta-you

Institutions

Major Positions

Columbia University. Department of Physics

Assistant Professor of Physics; Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; Enrico Fermi Professor of Physics; and University Professor.

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

Member; Professor; and Member, Board of Trustees.

University of California, Berkeley. Department of Physics

Research Associate and Lecturer.

University of Chicago. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Research Associate in Astronomy.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Member.

American Philosophical Society

Member.

Beijing Institute of Modern Physics

Director.

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Director, RIKEN BNL Research Center

China Center of Advanced Science and Technology

Director.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Universiṭat Tel-Aviv

Member, Board of Governors.

University of Chicago. Department of Physics

Obtained PhD (1950).

Xi nan lian he da xue (Kunming Shi, China)

Attended.

Zhejiang da xue

Attended and Director, Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Elementary particles. [sound recording]

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Invited papers in theoretical physics [sound recording] : American Physical Society Meeting, 1967 April 25.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

New insights into old problems [videorecording]: on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the non-conservation of parity experiment at NBS, 2005.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

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

Oral history interview with Tsung-Dao Lee, 1980 October 31.

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

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

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Reminiscences of Tsung-dao Lee : oral history, 1964.

Oral History Research Office

Columbia University

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

Subject

20th Century Chinese Physicists and Physics [sound recording], 2014 March 6.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Haskell A. Reich collection of student notes, circa 1945-1954.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Is parity conserved in weak interactions?: manuscript by Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee, 1956.

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 John P. Blewett, 1979 March 22 and May 11.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Leon H. Fisher and Robert N. Varney, 2008 July 26.

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 Ta-You Wu, 1977 February 5.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Outtakes and candid footage from the production of : The world of Enrico Fermi, circa 1930-1968.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Text materials for documentary film: The world of Enrico Fermi, circa 1930-1968.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Elementary particles and weak interactions / by T.D. Lee and C.N. Yang.

Nobel Prize Autobiography.

Particle physics and introduction to field theory / T.D. Lee.

Particles and detectors : festschrift for Jack Steinberger / editors, K. Kleinknecht and T.D. Lee.

Symmetries, asymmetries, and the world of particles / T.D. Lee.

T.D. Lee selected papers / G. Feinberg, editor.

Thirty years since parity nonconservation : a symposium for T.D. Lee / edited by Robert Novick.