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Table of Contents

Biography

AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjects

Relationships

PeopleInstitutions

Resources

Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as Subject

E. W. Montroll

Photo

Dates

May 4, 1916 – December 3, 1983

Authorized Form of Name

Montroll, E. W.

Additional Forms of Names

Montroll, Elliot W.

Montroll, Elliot Waters

Biography

Abstract

Elliott Montroll was Professor at the Institute of Physical Science and Technology at the University of Maryland (1981-1983). Other institutional affiliations included University of Rochester, International Business Machines (IBM), the United States Navy's Office of Naval Research, and the University of Pittsburgh. His research interests included lattice dynamics, the theory of unimolecular relaxation, and the theory and application of random walks.

Important Dates

May 4, 1916Birth, Pittsburgh (Pa.).

1937Obtained BS in Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh (Pa.).

1940Obtained PhD in Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh (Pa.).

1940 – 1941Sterling Research Fellow, Yale University.

1941 – 1942Research Associate, Cornell University.

1942 – 1943Instructor in Physics, Princeton University.

1943 – 1945Head, Mathematics Research Group, Kellex Corporation.

1944 – 1946Adjunct Professor of Chemistry, Polytechnical Institute of Brooklyn.

1946 – 1948Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Physics and Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh (Pa.).

1948 – 1950Head, Physics Bureau, Office of Naval Research, United States Navy.

1950Visiting Professor, Courant Institute, New York University.

1951 – 1961Research Professor, Institute of Fluid Dynamics and Applied Mathematics, University of Maryland, College Park (Md.).

1952 – 1954Director, Physical Sciences Division, Office of Naval Research, United States Navy.

1958 – 1959Guggenheim Memorial Fellow, University of Brussels.

1959 – 1970Editor, Journal of Mathematical Physics.

1961Lorentz Professor, University of Leiden.

1961 – 1963Director-General of Science, International Business Machines (IBM) Technology Center.

1963 – 1966Vice President, Institute for Defense Analyses.

1966 – 1981Einstein Professor of Physics and Chemistry and Director, Institute of Fundamental Studies, University of Rochester, Rochester (N.Y.).

1969Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1981 – 1983Professor, Institute of Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park (Md.).

December 3, 1983Death, Chevy Chase (Md.).

Occupation

Mathematical physicist.

Places

Birth

Pittsburgh (Pa.)

Undergraduate Education

Pittsburgh (Pa.)

Graduate Education

Pittsburgh (Pa.)

Employment

College Park (Md.)

Rochester (N.Y.)

Death

Chevy Chase (Md.)

Subjects

Mathematical physics.

Solid state physics.

Thermodynamics.

Relationships

People

Family

Abrams, Shirley

Wife. Married 1943.

Advisors & Collaborators

Kirkwood, John Gamble, 1907-1959

Post-doctoral advisor at Cornell University in Phase Transitions.

Mayer, Joseph Edward, 1904-

Post-doctoral advisor at at Columbia University.

Mazur, P. (Peter)

Advised by Montroll at University of Maryland.

Onsager, Lars, 1903-1976

Post-doctoral advisor at Yale University.

Colleagues

Armstrong, J. A. (John A.)

Both employed at IBM.

Bacher, Robert F. (Robert Fox), 1905-2004

Both employed at Cornell University.

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

Both employed at Cornell University.

Bleakney, Walker, 1901-1992

Both employed at Princeton University.

Courant, Richard, 1888-1972

Both employed at New York University.

Eastman, Dean E. (Dean Eric)

Both employed at IBM.

Fletcher, James Chipman, 1919-1991

Both employed at Princeton University.

Fowler, Alan, 1928-

Both employed at IBM.

Friedrichs, K. O. (Kurt Otto), 1901-1983

Both employed at New York University.

Grad, Harold, 1923-

Both employed at New York University.

Greisen, Kenneth

Both employed at Cornell University.

Gutzwiller, M. C. (Martin C.)

Both employed at IBM.

Mandel, Leonard

Both employed at University of Rochester.

Marshak, Robert E. (Robert Eugene), 1916-1992

Both employed at University of Rochester.

Merritt, Ernest, 1865-1948

Both employed at Cornell University.

Piore, Emanuel Ruben, 1908-2000

Both employed at IBM.

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

Both employed at Princeton University.

Rossi, Bruno, 1905-1993

Both employed at Cornell University.

Sarachik, Myriam P.

Both employed at IBM.

Shenstone, A. G. (Allen Goodrich)

Both employed at Princeton University.

Smyth, Henry De Wolf, 1898-1986

Both employed at Princeton University.

Spitzer, Lyman, 1914-1997

Both employed at Yale University.

Tape, Gerald Frederick, 1915-2005

Both employed at Cornell University.

Waterman, Alan Tower, 1892-1967

Both employed at Yale University.

Wheeler, John Archibald, 1911-2008

Both employed at Princeton University.

Wilson, Robert R., 1914-2000

Both employed at Princeton University.

Zeleny, John, 1872-

Both employed at Yale University.

Additional

Simha, Robert, 1912-2008

Witten, Louis

Institutions

Major Positions

Cornell University. Department of Physics

Research Associate.

IBM Research

Director-General of Science, IBM Technology Center.

Institute for Defense Analyses

Vice President.

Kellex Corporation

Head, Mathematics Research Group.

Princeton University. Department of Physics

Instructor in Physics.

Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden

Lorentz Professor.

United States. Office of Naval Research

Head, Physics Bureau, and Director, Physical Sciences Division.

University of Maryland, College Park. Institute for Fluid Dynamics and Applied Mathematics

Research Professor.

University of Maryland, College Park. Institute for Physical Science and Technology

Professor.

University of Pittsburgh. Department of Mathematics

Obtained PhD (1940). Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Mathematics.

University of Pittsburgh. Department of Physics

Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Physics.

University of Rochester. Department of Chemistry

Einstein Professor of Chemistry.

University of Rochester. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Einstein Professor of Physics and Director, Institute of Fundamental Studies.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

AIP Publishing, LLC

Editor, Journal of Mathematical Physics.

Columbia University. Department of Physics

Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences

Visiting Professor.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn

Adjunct Professor of Chemistry.

Thomas J. Watson IBM Research Center

Universite Libre de Bruxelles

Guggenheim Memorial Fellow.

University of Pittsburgh. Department of Chemistry

Obtained BS (1937).

Yale University. Physics Department

Sterling Research Fellow.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

E. W. Montroll papers, 1936-1982 (bulk 1972-1979).

Hornbake Library. Archives and Manuscripts Department

University of Maryland

College Park, MD 20742, USA

Notes of lectures on application of probability theory to physical problems, by Elliott W. Montroll, 1952 July.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with E. W. Montroll, 1983 September 26.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Physics lecture series at Wayne State University [videorecording] / by Elliott Montroll ; 1974.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Oral history interview with Louis Witten, 2011 March 17.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Subject

"Elliott Waters Montroll: 1916-1983", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences

Elliott Montrol Physics Today obituary.

Random walks and their applications in the physical and biological sciences (NBS/La Jolla Institute-1982) / edited by Michael F. Shlesinger and Bruce J. West.