John Dirk Walecka

Biography

Abstract

J. Dirk Walecka is Governor's Distinguished CEBAF Professor of Physics at the College of William and Mary (1992-present). Other institutional affiliations include Stanford University. His research interests include theoretical nuclear and particle physics.

Important Dates

March 11, 1932Birth, Milwaukee (Wis.).

1954Obtained BA, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1958Obtained PhD in Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1958 – 1959National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

1959 – presentNational Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow (1959-1960); Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Physics (1960-1966); Professor of Physics (1966-1987); Associate Dean, School of Humanities and Sciences (1970-1972); Chair, Academic Senate (1973-1974); Chair, Department of Physics (1977-1982); and Emeritus Professor of Physics (1987-present), Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).

1975 – 1977Member, Nuclear Science Advisory Committee, United States Energy Research and Development Administration and National Science Foundation.

1975 – 1977Member, Ad Hoc Panel on the Future of Nuclear Science, National Research Council.

1986 – 1992Scientific Director, Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), Newport News (Va.).

1990 – 1993Member, Advisory Board, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara.

1992 – presentAssociate Senior Staff, Theory Center, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News (Va.).

1992 – presentGovernor's Distinguished CEBAF Professor of Physics (1992-present) and Chair, Department of Physics (1994-2000), College of William and Mary, Williamsburg (Va.).

1996Awarded Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics, American Physical Society.

Occupation

Theoretical nuclear physicist.

Places

Birth

Milwaukee (Wis.)

Undergraduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Graduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Employment

Stanford (Calif.)

Newport News (Va.)

Williamsburg (Va.)

Subjects

Nuclear physics.

Particles (Nuclear physics).

Theoretical physics.

Relationships

People

Advisors & Collaborators

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

Post-doc advisor at Stanford University and both employed at Stanford University.

Moniz, E.

Advised by Walecka at Stanford University, "On the Interaction of High Energy Particles with Nuclei."

Weisskopf, Victor Frederick, 1908-2002

PhD advisor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), "Nuclear saturation".

Colleagues

Adelberger, Eric G.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Bardeen, William A.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Beasley, Malcolm

Both employed at Stanford University.

Bjorken, James D.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Bloch, Felix, 1905-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Cabrera, Blas

Both employed at Stanford University.

Chodorow, Marvin

Both employed at Stanford University.

Dorfan, Jonathan

Both employed at Stanford 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.

Glashow, Sheldon L.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Greene, Christopher Henry

Both employed at Stanford University.

Hänsch, T. W. (Theo W.), 1941-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Hofstadter, Robert, 1915-1990

Both employed at Stanford University.

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Kirkpatrick, Paul

Both employed at Stanford University.

Laughlin, Robert B.

Both employed at Stanford University.

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

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.

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Stanford University.

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

Both employed at Stanford University.

Schwartz, Melvin, 1932-2006

Both employed at Stanford University.

Smith, Neville, 1942-2006

Both employed at Stanford University.

Sprouse, Gene D.

Both employed at Stanford University.

Susskind, Leonard

Both employed at Stanford University.

Terman, Frederick Emmons, 1900-1982

Both employed at Stanford University.

Turner, Michael Stanley

Both employed at Stanford University.

White, Robert M., 1938-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Will, Clifford M., 1946-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Wojcicki, Stanley G., 1937-

Both employed at Stanford University.

Additional

Burkert, V.

Cardman, L. S.

Hughes, Vernon W.

Institutions

Major Positions

College of William and Mary. Department of Physics

Governor's Distinguished CEBAF Professor of Physics and Department Chair.

Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility

Scientific Director.

Stanford University. Department of Physics

National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow; Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; Department Chair; and Emeritus Professor of Physics.

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (U.S.)

Associate Senior Staff, Theory Center.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Physical Society

Received 1996 Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics.

European Organization for Nuclear Research

National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow.

Harvard University. Department of Physics

Obtained BA (1954).

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Obtained PhD (1958).

National Research Council (U.S.)

Member, Ad Hoc Panel on the Future of Nuclear Science.

National Science Foundation (U.S.)

Member, Nuclear Science Advisory Committee.

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Stanford University

Chair, Academic Senate.

Stanford University. School of Humanities and Sciences

Associate Dean.

United States. Energy Research and Development Administration

Member, Nuclear Science Advisory Committee.

University of California, Santa Barbara. Institute for Theoretical Physics

Member, Advisory Board.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

John Dirk Walecka notebooks, 1960-1986.

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Laboratory for Nuclear Sciences 46th anniversary symposium [videorecording], 1992 May 14-15.

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

Stanford University Department of Physics lectures, 1965-1980.

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Subject

Oral history interview with Donald F. Geesaman, 2013 July 15.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Volker Burkert, 2012 February 6.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Stanford University Department of Physics records, 1905-1994 (bulk 1960-1994).

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305, 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

Walter E. Meyerhof papers, 1948-1994.

Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Published Resources

Author

Advanced modern physics : theoretical foundations / John Dirk Walecka.

Fundamentals of statistical mechanics : manuscript and notes of Felix Bloch / prepared by John Dirk Walecka.

Quantum theory of many-particle systems [by] Alexander L. Fetter [and] John Dirk Walecka.

Theoretical nuclear and subnuclear physics / John Dirk Walecka.