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Institutional History
AbstractImportant DatesPlacesSubjectsCitationsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectUniversity of Minnesota. Department of Physics and Astronomy
Dates
1889 – present
Authorized Form of Name
University of Minnesota. Department of Physics and Astronomy
Additional Forms of Names
University of Minnesota. Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Institutional History
Abstract
The Department of Physics began at the University of Minnesota in 1889 when Frederick S. Jones was hired as professor of physics. In 1902, the first physical laboratory, now Jones Hall, was completed. The current physics laboratory building was built in 1928 and renamed the Tate Laboratory of Physics in 1963. In 1956, the Department of Physics in the College of Science, Literature and the Arts was raised to the status of a school and transferred to the Institute of Technology. In 1963, the Department of Astronomy was combined with the School of Physics to become the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Important Dates
1889Department began when Frederick S. Jones was hired as its first Professor of Physics, Minneapolis (Minn.).
1892 – 1915John Zeleny was on faculty.
1902First physical laboratory, Jones Hall was completed, Minneapolis (Minn.).
1913 – 1917Paul Klopsteg was on faculty.
1916 – 1917Arthur Compton was on faculty.
1918 – 1923William Swann was on faculty.
1923 – 1924Gregory Breit was on faculty.
1923 – 1928John Van Vleck was on faculty.
1926 – 1950John T. Tate edited the Physical Review while at Minnesota.
1929 – 1930Edward Condon was on faculty.
1930 – 1974Edward Hill was on faculty.
1930 – 1974John T. Tate was on faculty.
1933 – 1966John H. Williams was on faculty.
1936 – 1937Polykarp Kusch was on faculty.
1938 – 1941John Bardeen was on faculty.
1938 – 1994Alfred Nier was on faculty.
February 29, 1940Alfred O. C. Nier first isolated a detectable amount of U-235 in the basement of Tate Laboratory.
1947 – 1996Edward Ney was on faculty.
1949 – 2001John Winckler was on faculty.
1956The Department was raised to the status of school and transferred to the Institute of Technology.
1963The Department of Astronomy and School of Physics were combined.
1965 – presentAllen Goldmen has been on faculty.
1971 – 1973Joel Moss was on faculty.
1987Theoretical Physics Institute (TPI) was established by a major gift from William Fine, a real estate developer with a life-long interest in theoretical physics.
January 9, 2002Theoretical Physics Institute's name is changed to William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute.
Places
Headquarters
Subjects
Physics -- Study and teaching.
Citations
Historical information from History - Physics at Minnesota webpage (http://www.physics.umn.edu/about/history/).
Relationships
People
Employees & Officers
Assistant Professor of Physics.
Assistant Professor of Physics.
Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892-1962
Instructor of Physics.
Condon, Edward Uhler, 1902-1974
Professor of Theoretical Physics.
Assistant Professor to Professor of Physics; Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor; Head, School of Physics and Astronomy; and Regents Professor.
Received BS and PhD in Physics in 1928; Assistant Professor of Theoretical Physics; Associate Professor of Theoretical Physics; Professor of Theoretical Physics; Professor of Physics; and Emeritus Professor.
Visiting Professor.
Jones, Frederick S. (Frederick Scheetz)
First professor of the department.
Klopsteg, Paul E. (Paul Ernest), 1889-
Received BS, MA, and PhD, and Instructor to Assistant Professor of Physics.
Assistant in Physics.
Member, Board of Governors, Institute for Mathematics and its Applications.
Instructor in Physics.
Received BS in 1942; Assistant Professor to Professor of Physics and Astronomy; Regents Professor of Physics and Astronomy; and Chair, Department of Astronomy.
Nier, Alfred O. (Alfred Otto), 1911-1994
Received PhD in 1936; Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; Emeritus Professor of Physics; and Department Chair.
Visiting Professor.
Swann, W. F. G. (William Francis Gray), 1884-1962
Professor of Physics.
Tate, John T. (John Torrence), 1889-1950
Instructor in Physics; Assistant Professor of Physics; Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; and Research Professor of Physics.
Van Vleck, J. H. (John Hasbrouck), 1899-1980
Assistant Professor; Associate Professor; and Professor of Physics.
Williams, John H. (John Harry), 1908-
Instructor in Physics; Assistant Professor of Physics; Associate Professor of Physics; and Professor of Physics.
Assistant Professor to Professor of Physics, and Emeritus Professor of Physics.
Received BS (1892) and PhD (1906). Instructor in Physics; Assistant Professor of Physics; Associate Professor of Physics; and Professor of Physics.
PhD Students
Received PhD in Physics in 1968.
Received PhD in 1930.
Brattain, Walter H. (Walter Houser), 1902-1987
Received PhD in Physics in 1929.
Foote, Paul D. (Paul Darwin), 1888-1971
Received PhD in Physics in 1917.
Received BA in 1936, MS in 1939, and PhD in Physics in 1940.
Associates & Members
Bartlett, Paul D.
Compton, Betty Charity McCloskey, 1916-
Daniels, Farrington, 1889-1972
Received B.S. and M.S.
Dawson, Jim (James L.)
Erikson, Henry A. (Henry Anton), 1869-
Received BSc.
Hobbie, Russell K.
Received PhD in Theoretical Physics.
Kruger, P. Gerald (Peter Gerald), 1902-
Lawrence, Ernest Orlando, 1901-1958
Received MA.
Oppenheimer, Frank, 1912-1985
Peery, B. F. (Benjamin F.)
Schmitt, Otto Herbert
Spilhaus, A. F. (Athelstan Frederick), Jr.
Received BS (1922) and AM (1923).
Valasek, Joseph, 1897-1993
Institutions
Institutional Hierarchy
University of Michigan
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
Pages from catalogs listing faculty of University of Minnesota Physics Department, 1915-1933.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
University of Minnesota Department of Physics history, 1870-1938.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
University of Minnesota Department of Physics papers, 1886-1972.
University Archives
University of Minnesota
Andersen Library, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Subject
Athelstan Spilhaus papers, 1912-2003.
Center for American History. University Archives
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78713, USA
Edward L. Hill papers, 1928-1973.
University Archives
University of Minnesota
Andersen Library, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Elmer Hutchisson papers, 1919-1982.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Frank Oppenheimer papers, 1946-1959 (bulk 1946-1949).
University Archives
University of Minnesota
Andersen Library, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Henry A. Erikson papers, 1919-1928.
University Archives
University of Minnesota
Andersen Library, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Jim Dawson collection on Frank Oppenheimer, 1946-1999.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Joseph Valasek papers, circa 1917-1965.
University Archives
University of Minnesota
Andersen Library, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Keith Brueckner manuscript biography, 1986.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Athelstan Frederick Sphilhaus, 1976 March 9 and April 6.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Benjamin Peery, 1977 November 5.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Betty Compton, 1968 April 11 and 15.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral History interview with Edward P. Ney, 1984 February 29.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Elmer Hutchisson, 1970 October 22.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, 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 Joseph Valasek, 1969 May 8.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Melba Newell Phillips, 1977 December 5.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Melba Phillips, 1997 December 2.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Merle Antony Tuve, 1967 March 30.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Merle Antony Tuve, 1982 January 13 and February 5.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Paul Doughty Bartlett, 1978 July 18.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Paul E. Klopsteg, 1963 January 27.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Russell K. Hobbie, 1994 September 29.
University Archives
University of Minnesota
Andersen Library, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Otto Herbert Schmitt papers, 1901-1998.
University Archives
University of Minnesota
Andersen Library, Minneapolis, MN, USA
P. Gerald Kruger letters to Erika Wackenroder Kruger, Germany: 1939-1940.
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, 94720-6000, USA