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Institutional History
AbstractDepartment chairsImportant DatesPlacesSubjectsCitationsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorUniversity of Wisconsin--Madison. Department of Physics
Dates
1868 – present
Authorized Form of Name
University of Wisconsin--Madison. Department of Physics
Additional Forms of Names
University of Wisconsin--Madison. Dept. of Physics
Institutional History
Abstract
The University of Wisconsin's Department of Physics began in 1868 and now has research groups in areas such as astrophysics; atomic, molecular & optical physics; biophysics; condensed matter physics; cosmology; high energy physics; nuclear physics; and plasma physics.
Department chairs
1868-93, John E. Davies.
1893-1925, Benjamin Snow.
1925-35, Charles Mendenhall.
1936-37, John Ransom Roebuck.
1938-47, Leonard R. Ingersoll.
1947-51, Ragnar Oswald Rollefson.
1951-52, Heinz H. Barschall.
1952-56, Ragnar Oswald Rollefson.
1956-57, Heinz H. Barschall.
1957-60, Ragnar Oswald Rollefson.
1960-63, Hugh Richards.
1963-64, Heinz H. Barschall.
1964-66, William D. Walker.
1966-69, Hugh Richards.
1969-71, Loyal "Randy" Durand.
1971-73, Maurice Barney Webb.
1973-75, Marv Ebel.
1975-77, William L. Kraushaar.
1977-79, Keith Symon.
1979-81, Dave Huber.
1981-84, Don D. Reeder.
1984-85, Dave Huber.
1985-88, Hugh Richards.
1988-91, Martin Olsson.
1991-94, Ludwig Bruch.
1994-97, James Lawler.
1997-2000, Lee G. Pondrom.
2000-05, Don D. Reeder.
2005-08, Susan Coppersmith.
2008-11, Akif Baha Balentekin.
2011-14, Robert Joynt.
2014-present, Albrecht Karle.
Important Dates
1868Department of Physics was founded, Madison (Wis.).
1897 – 1901Robert Wood was on faculty.
1928 – 1934John Van Vleck was on faculty.
1930 – 1937Leland Haworth was on faculty.
1934 – 1947Gregory Breit was on faculty.
1935 – 1936Eugene Feenberg was on faculty.
1935 – 1972Raymond Herb was on faculty.
1937 – 1938Eugene Wigner was on faculty.
1941 – 1942Léon Brillouin was on faculty.
1946 – 1997Henry "Heinz" Barschall was on faculty.
1947 – 1964Robert Sachs was on faculty.
1950 – 1953Joaquin "Quin" Luttinger was on faculty.
1951 – 1953Robert Adair was on faculty.
1952 – 1954Willy Haeberli was on faculty.
1954 – 1957Kenneth Watson was on faculty.
1956 – presentWilly Haeberli has been on faculty.
1961 – presentMaurice Webb has been on faculty.
1962 – 1993Donald Kerst was on faculty.
1965 – 2008William Kraushaar was on faculty.
1970 – presentMax Lagally has been on faculty.
1972 – 1978Samuel Aronson was on faculty.
1981 – presentNoah Hershkowitz has been on faculty.
1995 – presentFranz Himpsel has been on faculty.
2001 – presentSusan Coppersmith has been on faculty.
Places
Headquarters
Subjects
Physics -- Study and teaching.
Citations
Historical information from University of Wisconsin Department of Physics website (http://www.physics.wisc.edu/welcome).
Relationships
People
Employees & Officers
Received PhD (1951). Instructor in Physics.
Assistant Professor of Physics.
Barschall, H. H. (Henry Herman), 1915-1997
Assistant Professor to Professor of Physics; Chair, Department of Physics; Bascom Professor of Physics, Medical Physics, and Nuclear Engineering; and Emeritus Professor of Physics, Medical Physics, and Nuclear Engineering.
Professor of Physics.
Visiting Professor of Physics.
Bruch, Ludwig Hermann
Department Chair.
Professor of Physics and Chair, Department of Physics.
Durand, Loyal, 1931-
Department Chair.
Lecturer in Physics.
Research Associate; Assistant Professor of Physics; Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; and Professor Emeritus of Physics.
Haworth, Leland J. (Leland John), 1904-
Received PhD in Physics (1931). Instructor in Physics.
Herb, R. G. (Raymond George), 1908-1996
Received BA and PhD in Physics (1935). Research Associate in Physics; Assistant Professor of Physics; Associate Professor to Professor of Physics; and Charles Mendenhall Professor of Physics.
Professor to Irving Langmuir Professor of Engineering Physics.
Professor of Physics; Scientific Director, Synchrotron Radiation Center; and Ednor M. Rowe Professor of Physics.
Ingersoll, Leonard Rose, 1880-1958
Department Chair.
Visiting Professor.
Joynt, Robert
Department Chair.
Karle, Albrecht
Department Chair.
Professor of Physics; Max Mason Professor of Physics; Chair, Department of Physics; and Professor Emeritus of Physics.
Received MS and PhD in Physics (1968). Instructor and Research Associate in Physics; Assistant Professor to Associate Professor; John Bascom Professor of Surface Science and Technology; and Erwin W. Mueller Professor of Physics.
Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Physics.
Mendenhall, Charles E. (Charles Elwood), 1872-1935
Department Chair.
Olsson, Martin G., 1938-
Department Chair.
Pondrom, Lee G., 1933-
Department Chair.
Reeder, D. (Don)
Department Chair.
Richards, Hugh T. (Hugh Taylor), 1918-
Department Chair.
Roebuck, John R. (John Ransom), 1876-1965
Department Chair.
Rollefson, Ragnar
Department Chair.
Associate Professor to Professor of Physics.
Snow, Benjamin Warner, 1860-
Department Chair.
Symon, Keith R.
Department Chair.
Van Vleck, J. H. (John Hasbrouck), 1899-1980
Received AB (1920). Professor of Physics.
Walker, W. D. (William Delany), 1923-
Department Chair.
Associate Professor of Physics.
Webb, M. B. (Maurice Barnett), 1926-
Received BS (1950), MS (1952), and PhD (1956). Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; Department Chair; and Emeritus Professor of Physics.
Visiting Professor.
Wigner, Eugene Paul, 1902-1995
Professor of Physics.
Wood, Robert Williams, 1868-1955
Instructor in Physics and Assistant Professor of Physics.
Visiting Professor of Physics.
PhD Students
Birge, Raymond T. (Raymond Thayer), 1887-
Received AB (1909), AM, and PhD in Physics (1914).
Received BS (1936) and PhD (1939).
DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994
Received AM and PhD in Physics (1926).
Received MS and PhD in Physics (1964).
Received PhD in Physics (1950).
Kerst, Donald William, 1911-1993
Received BA and PhD in Physics (1937). E. M. Terry Professor of Physics and Emeritus Professor of Physics.
Received PhD (1941).
Piore, Emanuel Ruben, 1908-2000
Received BA (1930) and PhD (1935).
Received PhD in Physics (1934).
Slichter, Louis B. (Louis Byrne), 1896-1978
Received BA (1917), AM (1920), and PhD (1922).
Received MA (1969) and PhD (1973).
Associates & Members
Brown, G. E. (Gerald Edward), 1926-
Received BA (1946).
Cashdollar, Kenneth L.
Enoch, Jacob
Gemant, Andrew, 1895-
Hanson, Alfred Olaf, 1914-
Holbrow, Charles H.
Katcher, David Abraham, 1915-2002
Kruger, P. Gerald (Peter Gerald), 1902-
Lewis, H. W. (Harold Warren)
Lin, Chun C.
Meggers, William F. (William Frederick), 1888-1966
Received MA (1916).
Sproull, Wayne T. (Wayne Treber), 1906-1992
Suits, C. Guy (Chauncey Guy), 1905-1991
Received AB (1927).
Vacquier, Victor
Wahlin, H. B. (Hugo Bernard)
Whitford, Albert E. (Albert Edward), 1905-2002
Winch, Ralph P.
Wolcott, Edson Ray, 1877-1966
Zilsel, Paul Rudolph, 1923-
Institutions
Institutional Hierarchy
University of Wisconsin--Madison
Associates
American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics
Participated in the study of multi-institutional collaborations.
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
E632 collaboration meeting records, 1980-1997.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Pages from catalogs listing faculty of University of Wisconsin Physics Department, 1900-1940.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
University of Wisconsin--Madison Archives. Oral History Project: Selected Interviews with Physics and Astronomy Staff and Students.
University Archives
University of Wisconsin -- Madison
Steenbock Library, Madison, WI 53706, USA
University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Physics records, 1885-1962.
University Archives
University of Wisconsin -- Madison
Steenbock Library, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Subject
Alfred Olaf Hanson response to 1981 History of Nuclear Physics Survey, 1981.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Andrew Gemant autobiography, circa 1963.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Andrew Gemant papers, 1845-1983.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Charles H. Holbrow lab notebooks, 1960-1962
University Archives
University of Wisconsin -- Madison
Steenbock Library, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Edson Ray Wolcott autobiography, 1951.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Edson Ray Wolcott diplomas, dates unknown.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Eugene Feenberg correspondence, 1927-1958.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Henry H. Barschall papers, 1942-1974.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Henry H. Barschall papers, 1960-1970.
University Archives
University of Wisconsin -- Madison
Steenbock Library, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Hugh T. Richards papers.
University Archives
University of Wisconsin -- Madison
Steenbock Library, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Hugo B Wahlin general files, 1932-1960.
University Archives
University of Wisconsin -- Madison
Steenbock Library, Madison, WI 53706, USA
J. H. Van Vleck: quantum theory and magnetism [sound recording], 2011 March 22.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Jacob Enoch papers, 1951-2009.
Libraries. Kenneth Spencer Research Library. University Archives
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
Kenneth L. Cashdollar class notes, 1972-1973.
University Archives
University of Wisconsin -- Madison
Steenbock Library, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Michael Witherell papers, 1999-2005.
Milton G. White History of Accelerators Room (WH-3SE) and Archives (WH-16NE)
Fermilab
PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 90510, USA
Oral history interview with Albert Edward Whitford, 1977 July 15 and 1978 July 17.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Chun C. Lin, 2008 October 14.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with David Abraham Katcher, 1986 April 16.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Edward Creutz, 2006 January 9 and 10.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Emanuel Ruben Piore, 1977 March 7.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Eugene Feenberg, 1973 April 13 and 14.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Eugene Paul Wigner, 1966 November 30.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Eugene Paul Wigner, 1984 April 12.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Frederick Seitz, 1981 January 26, 27, March 24 and 1982 March 16.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Harold Warren Lewis, 1986 July 6.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with J. H. Van Vleck, 1963 October 2 and 4.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with J. H. Van Vleck, 1966 February 28 and 1973 January 19.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Lee A. DuBridge, 1987 March 6.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Paul Rudolph Zilsel, 1988 March 21 and 26.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Raymond George Herb, 1976 April.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Raymond George Herb, 1982 October 8.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Raymond Thayer Birge, 1960 May 9.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Robert Serber, 1967 February 10.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Robert Serber, 1983 December 19.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Thomas Lauritsen, 1967 February 16.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Victor Vacquier, 1988 February 17 and 1989 January 24.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
P. Gerald Kruger letters to Erika Wackenroder Kruger, Germany: 1939-1940.
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, 94720-6000, USA
Ralph P. Winch autobiographical notes and comments, 1964.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Robert G. Sachs letters concerning Merle Tuve's and Raymond Herb's physics research at Johns Hopkins University and the Univerity of Wisconsin, 1983-1984.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Wayne Treber Sproull response to early 1930s Ph.D.s Survey, 1980.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA