University of Colorado Boulder. Department of Physics

Institutional History

Abstract

The University of Colorado Boulder's Department of Physics hired its first physics professor, William Waggener, in 1885. It established the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) with the National Bureau of Standard sin 1962 and now ranks among the top ten physics departments at public universities. Their faculty includes multiple Nobel Laureates, Packard Fellows, MacArthur Fellows and Presidential Early Career Award winners.

Important Dates

1885University hired its first Professor of Physics, William Waggener, Boulder (Colo.).

1902Granted its first Masters of Science degree.

1911Established the most complete inland wireless telegraph station in the country.

1926Conferred its first Ph.D. to Vladimir P. Lubovich.

1942James Broxon correlated the magnetic fields of sunspots to their sizes and shape.

1952William Peitenpol developed pointing control system for rockets with support of the United States Air Force.

1956 – 1968George Gamow was on faculty.

1959 – 1964Bernhard Haurwitz was on faculty.

1962Established the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) with the National Bureau of Standards, Boulder (Colo.).

1963 – 1974Edward Condon was on faculty.

1972The Duane Physical Laboratories were completed and dedicated.

1977 – presentNoel Clark has been on faculty.

1980Noel Clark and Sven Lagerwall developed Surface Stablilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals.

1984 – 2013Carl Wieman was on faculty.

1989 – 2012Chris Greene was on faculty.

1990 – presentEric Cornell has been on faculty.

1999 – presentMargaret Murnane has been on faculty.

2001Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work with Bose-Einstein Condensates.

Places

Headquarters

Boulder (Colo.)

Subjects

Physics -- Study and teaching.

Citations

From the University of Colorado Boulder Department of Physics website (http://www.colorado.edu/physics/).

Relationships

People

Employees & Officers

Branscomb, Lewis M., 1926-

Adjoint Professor of Physics.

Clark, N. A. (Noel Anthony), 1940-

Associate Professor of Physics and Professor of Physics.

Condon, Edward Uhler, 1902-1974

Professor and Professor Emeritus.

Cornell, Eric Allin, 1961-

Adjoint Assistant Professor of Physics and Adjoint Professor.

Dunn, G. H. (Gordon H.), 1932-

Lecturer in Physics.

Gaillard, Mary K.

Member, Advisory Committee, Theoretical Advanced Study Institute in Elementary Particle Physics (TASI).

Gamow, George, 1904-1968

Professor.

Goodman, Charles D.

Visiting Professor.

Greene, Christopher Henry

Professor of Physics and Arts and Sciences College Professor of Distinction.

Hall, J. L. (John L.), 1934-

Lecturer.

Haurwitz, Bernhard

Professor of Geophysics.

Hershkowitz, N. (Noah), 1941-

Visiting Professor.

Jin, Deborah S.

Assistant Professor Adjoint; Associate Professor Adjoint; and Professor Adjoint.

Murnane, Margaret

Professor of Physics and University Distinguished Professor.

Porkolab, Miklos

Visiting Professor.

Waggener, William J. (William John), 1855-1942

First Professor of Physics hired by the department.

Wieman, C. E. (Carl Edwin)

Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; and Distinguished Professor of Physics.

Ye, Jun, 1967-

Received PhD (1997). Assistant Professor Adjoint; Associate Professor Adjoint; and Professor of Physics Adjoint.

PhD Students

Bergquist, James Charles

Received PhD in 1977.

Lubovich, Vladimir Paul

First Ph.D. recipient of the department.

Associates & Members

Bartlett, Albert A.

Bender, P. L. (Peter Leopold), 1930-

Broxon, James William, 1897-

Busemann, Adolf, 1901-

Duane, William, 1872-1935

Fulton, Theodore Alan

Received BS in 1961.

Lagerwall, Sven T. (Sven Torbjörn)

Developed Surface Stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals with Noel Clark.

Maiman, Theodore H.

Received BS.

Ohl, Russell S.

Oppenheimer, Frank, 1912-1985

Traxler, Ralph N.

Institutions

Institutional Hierarchy

University of Colorado Boulder

Collaborators

Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics

Established in 1962 with the National Bureau of Standards.

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

Run the JILA as a joint institute.

United States. National Bureau of Standards

Together established in 1962 the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics.

Associates

American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics

Participated in the study of multi-institutional collaborations.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Atomic West collections, 1945-2000.

Libraries. Western Historical Collections

University of Colorado

Campus Box 184, Boulder, CO 80302-0184, USA

Subject

Albert A. Bartlett papers, 1969-1997.

Libraries. Western Historical Collections

University of Colorado

Campus Box 184, Boulder, CO 80302-0184, USA

Edward Condon papers, circa 1920-1974.

Library

American Philosophical Society

105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

Oral history interview with Adolf Busemann, 1979 Summer.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Albert A. Bartlett, 1994.

Boulder Public Library

1001 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, CO 80302, USA

Oral history interview with Frank Oppenheimer, 1973 February 9 and May 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Russell S. Ohl, 1976 August 19 and 20.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Walter Orr Roberts, 1983 July 26 and July 28.

Archives

National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000, USA

Oral history interviews. Geophysics and Oceanography: Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP), 1992-1994.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interviews. Space Science: International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), 1992-1994.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interviews. Space Science: Voyager, 1992-1994.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history inteview with Peter L. Bender, 1987 May 12.

NIST Research Library and NIST Archives

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Information Services Division. 100 Bureau Drive, MS 2500, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA

Ralph N. Traxler autobiography, circa 1965.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Remembering Edward Condon: oral history interview with Churchill Eisenhart, Reeves Tilley, Robert Huntoon, Jacob Rabinow, Lauriston Taylor, Walter Hamer, 1986 June 20.

NIST Research Library and NIST Archives

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Information Services Division. 100 Bureau Drive, MS 2500, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA

The department of physics of the University of Colorado at Boulder, 1876-2001.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

William Duane papers, 1898-1935.

Libraries. Western Historical Collections

University of Colorado

Campus Box 184, Boulder, CO 80302-0184, USA

Published Resources

Author

Final report of the scientific study of unidentified flying objects. Edward U. Condon, scientific director. Daniel S. Gillmor, editor. With an introd. by Walter Sullivan.

Proceedings of the Summer Seminar, Boulder, Colorado, 1960. Mark Kac, editor.

Skylab experiments. Produced by the Skylab Program and NASA's Education Programs Division in cooperation with the University of Colorado.