Louis B. Slichter

Biography

Abstract

Louis Slichter was Emeritus Professor of Geophysics at University of California, Los Angeles (1963-1978). Other institutional affiliations included University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research interests included inverse problems of geophysics, heat flow and cooling of the earth, free oscillations of the earth, solid-earth tides, crustal seismology, and the application of physical methods to the exploration of mineral deposits.

Important Dates

May 19, 1896Birth, Madison (Wis.).

1917Assistant Test Engineer, General Electric Company.

1917Obtained BA, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison (Wis.).

1917 – 1919Assistant, Naval Experiment Station, United States Navy.

1920Obtained AM, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison (Wis.).

1922Obtained PhD in Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison (Wis.).

1922 – 1924Physicist, Submarine Signal Company.

1924 – 1931Partner, Mason, Slichter and Gould.

1930 – 1931Research Associate, California Institute of Technology.

1931 – 1945Associate Professor of Geophysics (1931-1932) and Professor of Geophysics (1932-1945), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1941 – 1945Researcher, Division 6 (Undersea Warfare), National Defense Research Commiitee, Office of Scientific Research and Development.

1944Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1945 – 1947Professor of Geophysics, University of Wisconsin, Madison.

1947 – 1978Professor of Geophysics (1947-1962); Director, Institute of Geophysics (1947-1962); and Emeritus Professor of Geophysics (1963-1978), University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles (Calif.).

March 25, 1978Death.

Occupation

Geophysicist.

Places

Birth

Madison (Wis.)

Undergraduate Education

Madison (Wis.)

Graduate Education

Madison (Wis.)

Employment

Cambridge (Mass.)

Los Angeles (Calif.)

Subjects

Geophysics.

Seismology.

Relationships

People

Family

Slichter, Charles P.

Nephew.

Slichter, Charles Sumner, 1864-1946

Father.

Slichter, Martha

Wife.

Slichter, Mary Louise Byrne

Mother.

Slichter, Susan Merry

Daughter.

Whaling, Mary Lou Slichter

Daughter.

Advisors & Collaborators

Mason, Max, 1877-1961

PhD advisor at University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Colleagues

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.

Bateman, Harry, 1882-1946

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Compton, K. T. (Karl Taylor), 1887-1954

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Coolidge, William David, 1873-1975

Both employed at General Electric Company.

DuMond, Jesse W. M. (Jesse William Monroe), 1892-1976

Both employed at General Electric Company and California Institute of Technology.

Epstein, Paul S. (Paul Sophus), 1883-1966

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Griggs, David, 1911-1974

Both employed at University of California, Los Angeles.

Houston, W. V. (William Vermillion), 1900-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Hull, Albert Wallace, 1880-1966

Both employed at General Electric Company.

Kaula, William M.

Both employed at University of California, Los Angeles.

Langmuir, Irving, 1881-1957

Both employed at General Electric Company.

Lauritsen, Charles Christian, 1892-1968

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

MacDonald, Gordon J. (Gordon James), 1929-2002

Both employed at University of California, Los Angeles.

Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Peale, Stanton Jerrold

Both employed at University of California, Los Angeles.

Pekeris, C. L. (Chaim Leib), 1908-1993

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

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

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Tate, John T. (John Torrence), 1889-1950

Both employed at Division 6 of the Office of Scientific Research and Development.

Tolman, Richard C. (Richard Chace), 1881-1948

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Wetherill, George West

Both employed at University of California, Los Angeles.

Additional

Knopoff, Leon, 1925-

Munk, Walter H. (Walter Heinrich), 1917-

Institutions

Major Positions

California Institute of Technology. Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy

Research Associate.

General Electric Company. Research Laboratory

Assistant Test Engineer.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Geology and Geophysics

Associate Professor of Geophysics and Professor of Geophysics.

Raytheon Company

Physicist, Submarine Signal Company.

United States. Navy

Assistant, Naval Experiment Station.

United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development. National Defense Research Committee

Researcher, Division 6 (Undersea Warfare).

University of California, Los Angeles. Department of Earth and Space Sciences

Professor and Professor Emeritus of Geophysics.

University of California, Los Angeles. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics.

Director.

University of Wisconsin--Madison. Department of Geology and Geophysics

Professor of Geophysics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

University of Wisconsin--Madison. Department of Physics

Obtained BA (1917), AM (1920), and PhD (1922).

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Oral history interview with Louis Slichter, 1976-1978.

University Research Library. Department of Special Collections

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA 90024-1575, USA

Teacher, researcher, and administrator : transcript, 1966-1969.

University Research Library. Department of Special Collections

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA 90024-1575, USA

Subject

Max Mason papers, 1898-1961.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Leon Knopoff, 1990 April 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Walter Heinrich Munk, 1997 January 8, September 16, 17, 1998 February 4 and 5.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

University of California, San Diego, Institute of Geophysics and Planetry Physics records, 1959-1963.

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Published Resources

Subject

"Louis Byrne Slichter: 1896-1978", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences