Leon M. Lederman

Biography

Abstract

Leon M. Lederman is Pritzker Professor of Physics at the Illinois Institute of Technology (1992-present) and shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics with Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger. Other institutional affiliations include the University of Chicago and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. His research interests include particle physics and neutrinos.

Important Dates

July 15, 1922Birth, New York (N.Y.).

1943Obtained BS, City College of New York, New York (N.Y.).

1943 – 1946Officer, Signal Corps, United States Army.

1948Obtained AM, Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1951Obtained PhD in Physics, Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1951 – 1979Research Associate (1951-1952); Assistant to Associate Professor of Physics (1952-1958); Professor of Physics (1958-1972); Director, Nevis Laboratories (1961-1979); and Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics (1972-1979), Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1965Awarded National Medal of Science.

1965Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1967 – 1970Member, High Energy Physics Advisory Panel, United States Atomic Energy Commission.

1978 – 2018Director (1978-1989) and Emeritus Director (1989-2018), Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

1982Awarded Wolf Foundation Prize in Physics.

1988Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics with Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger "for the neutrino beam method and the demonstration of the doublet structure of the leptons through the discovery of the muon neutrino".

1989 – 1992Chair, Board of Trustees, Aspen Center for Physics.

1989 – 1992Frank L. Sulzberger Professor of Physics, University of Chicago.

1992President, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

1992Awarded Enrico Fermi Award, United States Department of Energy.

1992Pritzker Professor of Physics, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago (Ill.).

October 3, 2018Death, Rexburg (Idaho).

Occupation

Particle physicist.

Places

Birth

New York (N.Y.)

Undergraduate Education

New York (N.Y.)

Graduate Education

New York (N.Y.)

Employment

New York (N.Y.)

Batavia (Ill.)

Chicago (Ill.)

Death

Rexburg (Idaho)

Subjects

Leptons (Nuclear physics).

Muons.

Particles (Nuclear physics).

Quarks.

Relationships

People

Family

Lederman, Ellen

Second wife.

Lederman, Florence Gordon

First wife.

Lederman, Jesse

Son.

Lederman, Morris

Father.

Lederman, Paul

Brother.

Lederman, Rachel

Daughter.

Lederman, Rena

Daughter.

Advisors & Collaborators

Booth, Eugene

PhD advisor at Columbia University, "A cloud chamber determination of the life-time of the negative pi meson and the mass of the negative mu meson."

Dorfan, David E.

Advised by Lederman at Columbia University, "A search for massive fundamental particles; observation of antideuterons."

Penman, Sheldon

Advised by Lederman at Columbia University, "Magnetic Moment of the Free Muon."

Schramm, David N.

Co-wrote "From quarks to the cosmos: Tools of discovery."

Schwartz, Melvin, 1932-2006

Shared 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics with Jack Steinberger "for the neutrino beam method and the demonstration of the doublet structure of the leptons through the discovery of the muon neutrino" and both employed at Columbia University.

Steinberger, J.

Shared 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics with Melvin Schwartz "for the neutrino beam method and the demonstration of the doublet structure of the leptons through the discovery of the muon neutrino" and both employed at Columbia University.

Tannenbaum, Michael J.

Advised by Lederman at Columbia University, "Muon-Proton Elastic Scattering with BeV Momentum Transfers."

Colleagues

Balluffi, R. W.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Bardeen, William A.

Both employed at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Bjorken, James D.

Both employed at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Boehm, Felix

Both employed at Columbia University.

Brillouin, Léon, 1889-1969

Both employed at Columbia University.

Christ, Norman

Both employed at Columbia University.

Commins, Eugene D.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Crewe, Albert V.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Cronin, James W., 1931-2016

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Cummins, Herman Z., 1933-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Davis, Bergen, 1869-1958

Both employed at Columbia University.

Devons, Samuel

Both employed at Columbia University.

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

Both employed at Columbia University.

Fano, Ugo

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Feinberg, Gerald, 1933-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Foley, Henry Michael, 1917-1982

Both employed at Columbia University.

Fritzsche, Hellmut

Both employed at University of Chicago.

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

Both employed at Columbia University.

Goldhaber, Gerson

Both employed at Columbia University.

Guth, Alan H.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Happer, William, 1939-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Henley, Ernest M.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Hughes, Vernon W.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Huth, John Edward

Both employed at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Javan, Ali, 1926-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kadanoff, Leo P.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Kinoshita, T. (Toichiro)

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kroll, Norman Myles, 1922-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kusch, Polykarp, 1911-1993

Both employed at Columbia University.

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

Both employed at Columbia University.

Lee, T. D., 1926-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Libchaber, Albert J.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Luttinger, Joaquin M.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Mandelstam, Stanley

Both employed at Columbia University.

Massey, Walter E.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Nagel, Sidney R.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Nambu, Yoichiro, 1921-2015

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Novick, Robert

Both employed at Columbia University.

Nygren, David R.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Pegram, George Braxton, 1876-1958

Both employed at Columbia University.

Peoples, John, Jr.

Both employed at Columbia University and at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

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.

Ruderman, Malvin A.

Both employed at Columbia University.

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

Both employed at Columbia University.

Sachs, Robert Green, 1916-

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Samios, Nicholas P.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Columbia University.

Serber, R. (Robert)

Both employed at Columbia University.

Shochet, Melvyn J.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Simpson, John A. (John Alexander), 1916-2000

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Thomas, Llewellyn Hilleth, 1903-1992

Both employed at Columbia University.

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

Both employed at Columbia University.

Tollestrup, Alvin

Both employed at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Townes, Charles H.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Wald, Robert M.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Weinberg, Erick J.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Weinberg, Steven, 1933-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Wick, G. C. (Gian Carlo)

Both employed at Columbia University.

Wilson, Robert R., 1914-2000

Both employed at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

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

Both employed at Columbia University.

Additional

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

Charpak, Georges

Frauenfelder, Hans, 1922-

Ramsey, Norman, 1915-2011

Salam, Abdus, 1926-1996

Telegdi, Val, 1922-2006

Witten, E.

Institutions

Major Positions

Columbia University. Department of Physics

Obtained AM (1948) and PhD in Physics (1951). Research Associate; Assistant Professor of Physics; Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; and Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics.

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Director and Emeritus Director.

Illinois Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Pritzker Professor of Physics.

Nevis Laboratories

Director.

United States. Army. Signal Corps

Officer.

University of Chicago. Department of Physics

Frank L. Sulzberger Professor of Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Association for the Advancement of Science

President.

Aspen Center for Physics

Chair, Board of Trustees.

Brookhaven National Laboratory

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

Obtained BS (1943).

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S.)

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission

Member, High Energy Physics Advisory Panel.

United States. Department of Energy

Received 1992 Enrico Fermi Award.

Wolf Foundation Prizes

Received 1982 Wolf Foundation Prize in Physics.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory records of Leon M. Lederman, 1962-[ongoing].

Milton G. White History of Accelerators Room (WH-3SE) and Archives (WH-16NE)

Fermilab

PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 90510, USA

Hawaii Conference in High Energy Physics public lecture by Dr. Leon Lederman on "Inner Space and Outer Space" [videorecording], 1985.

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

Leon Lederman's address to American Institute of Physics' Corporate Associates Meeting, [videorecording] 1982.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Leon M. Lederman personal dossier.

Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Física y Naturales

Av. Alvear 1711, 1015 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Oral history interview with Leon Lederman, 1990 May 7.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interviews. High-Energy Physics. Probes: Upsilon Experiments FNAL-E-70, -187, -288, -494, -596, -605, -608, 1990.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Panel discussion on topics of public interest in high energy physics [videorecording], 1985.

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

Upsilon collection.

History and Archives Project Office, MS-109

Fermilab

PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 90510, USA

Subject

American Institute of Physics Physics Today division Bertram Schwarzschild Nobel Prize files, 1954-2013.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Hans Frauenfelder response to survey on the impact of immigration on U.S. physics, 1999.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

John P. Blewett papers, 1821-2000 (bulk 1940-1995).

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Leon Lederman retirement symposium [videorecording].

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 Leon Lederman, 2002 August 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

Pais Prize session: the national laboratories after 1980 [sound recording], 2012 April 2.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Science education [videorecording]: a history of involvement / Leon M. Lederman.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

"The Discovery of the Upsilon, Bottom Quark, and B Mesons," in The Rise of the Standard Model: Particle Physics in the 1960s and 1970s, ed. Lillian Hoddeson, Laurie Brown, Michael Riordan, and Max Dresden (New York: Cambridge University Press: 1997), 101-113

ARISE, American Renaissance in Science Education: implementation resource book : suggestions from the field / convened by Leon M. Lederman. Report edited by Marjorie G. Bardeen.

Enfants, chercheurs et citoyens / sous la direction de Georges Charpak ; avec la collaboration de Léon Lederman et son équipe René Garassino ... [et al.].

Leon Lederman Academy of Achievement profile.

Leon Lederman's Nobel Lecture, "Observations in Particle Physics from Two Neutrinos to the Standard Model" (1988)

The God Particle: If the Universe is the Answer, What is the Question? (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993)

YouTube: A Sense of Wonder with Leon Lederman

YouTube: Conversations with History - Leon M. Lederman

Subject

"Vision to Reality: From Robert R. Wilson's Frontier to Leon M. Lederman's Fermilab," Physics in Perspective 5 (2003): 67-86

Fermilab Golden Book, "An Eclectic Reader on Leon M. Lederman"

Fermilab: Physics, the Frontier, and Megascience (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008)

From quarks to the cosmos: tools of discovery / Leon M. Lederman, David N. Schramm.

Leon Lederman Nobel Prize biography.

New York Times obituary for Leon Lederman.