Karl Taylor Compton (1887-1954) was a prominent American physicist and president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (1930-1948). 1887 is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a university located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MITs greatest strengths are in science, technology, management, economics, linguistics, political science, and philosophy. ... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a research and educational institution located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MIT is a world leader in science and technology, as well as in many other fields, including management, economics, linguistics, political science, and philosophy. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Early Years (1897-1912)

Karl Taylor Compton was born on September 14, 1887 in Wooster, Ohio. The eldest of three brothers and one sister, his father was from an old American Presbyterian family and his mother from a Alsatian and Hession Mennite that had recently immigrated to America. He can from a remarkably accomplished family in which his brother Arthur a prominent physicist and sister Mary a missionary. 1887 is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... Wayne County courthouse in downtown Wooster Wooster is a city located in Wayne County, Ohio. ... State nickname: The Buckeye State Official languages None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus (largest metropolitan area is Cleveland) Governor Bob Taft (R) Senators Mike DeWine (R) George V. Voinovich (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 34th 116,096 km² 8. ... Arthur H. Compton on the cover of Time Magazine, January 13, 1936 Arthur Holly Compton (September 10, 1892 – March 15, 1962) won the Nobel Prize in Physics (1927) for discovery of the effect named after him. ...

Beginning in 1897 Compton's summers were spent camping at Otsego Lake, Michigan while attending Wooster public schools in fall, winter and summer. He took hard labor jobs starting at age eleven to help pay for college, working carrying hods for construction projects, as a farm hand, mule skinner, a book canvasser, in tile and brick factories and surveyed the first mile of paved road in Ohio. 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... State nickname: The Wolverine State, The Great Lakes State Official languages English de-facto Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) Senators Carl Levin (D) Debbie Stabenow (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 11th 96,889 mi² / 250,941 km² 41. ... Wayne County courthouse in downtown Wooster Wooster is a city located in Wayne County, Ohio. ... State nickname: The Buckeye State Official languages None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus (largest metropolitan area is Cleveland) Governor Bob Taft (R) Senators Mike DeWine (R) George V. Voinovich (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 34th 116,096 km² 8. ...

In 1902 Compton skipped a grade and went into Wooster University's preparatory department for the last two years of high school. In 1908 he graduated from Wooster cum laude in with a bachelor of philosophy degree, then in 1909 his master's thesis A study of the Wehnelt electrolytic interrupter was published in Physical Review. During (1909-1910) he was an instructor in Wooster's chemistry department before entering a graduate program at Princeton University. There he received the Porter Ogden Jacobus Fellowship, and worked with Owen Willans Richardson and jointly published several papers on electrons released by ultraviolet light, electron theory and on the photoelstic effect. Richardson went on to receive the Nobel Prize in some of the areas Compton where Compton contributed. In 1912 Compton received his Ph.D. from Princeton summa cum laude. 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The College of Wooster is a liberal arts college primarily known for its Independent Study program. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Physical Review is one of the oldest and most-respected scientific journals publishing research on all aspects of physics. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Princeton University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. ... Sir Owen Willans Richardson (April 26, 1879 - February 15, 1959) was a British physicist, and was a professor at Princeton University from 1906 to 1913. ... Sir Edward Appletons medal Photographs of Nobel Prize Medals. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. ...

Princeton University (1918-1930)

After the Armistice of 1918, the end of World War I Compton returned home to Princeton, his wife and three year old daughter Mary Evelyn. In June of 1919 Compton was made a full professor, and worked in the Palmer Laboratory where his gift for teaching was legendary. His research was in the area of electronics and spectroscopy in subject areas such as passage of photoelectrons through metals, ionization, the motion of electrons in gases, fluorescence, theory of the electric arc, absorption and emission spectra of mercury vapor, and collisions of electrons and atoms. In 1927 Compton was named Director of Research at the Palmer Laboratory and Cyrus Fogg Brackett professor. In 1929 he was appointed head of the department. Over one hundred papers were published in his name during his time at Princeton. An armistice is the effective end of a war, when the warring parties agree to stop fighting. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machine guns, and poison gas. ... Princeton University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Two digital voltmeters The field of electronics is the study and use of systems that operate by controlling the flow of electrons or other electrically charged particles in devices such as thermionic valves and semiconductors. ... Extremely high resolution spectrum of the Sun showing thousands of elemental absorption lines (fraunhofer lines) Spectroscopy is the study of spectra, that is, the dependence of physical quantities on frequency. ... ... Properties The electron (also called negatron, commonly represented as e−) is a subatomic particle. ... -1... Fluorescence induced by exposure to ultraviolet light in vials containing various sized Cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots. ... An electric arc can melt calcium oxide. ... Absorption has a number of meanings: In physics, absorption is a process in which particles of some sort encounter another material and are taken up by or even disappear in it. ... The word emission generally means sending something out. ... Spectra is the plural of spectrum. ... Look up Mercury in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Mercury may mean: Science Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun in the solar system. ... Properties The electron is a fundamental subatomic particle which carries a negative electric charge. ... Properties An atom (Greek άτομον from ά: non and τομον: divisible) is a submicroscopic structure found in all ordinary matter. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Princeton University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. ...

In 1923 Compton was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society and in 1924 a member of the National Academy of Sciences for which he was chairman of the Section of Physics (1927-1930). He was named vice-president of the American Physical Society (APS) in 1925 and in 1927 became its president. Compton was also a fellow of the Optical Society of America, a member of the American Chemical Society, the Franklin Institute and other professional engineering societies. 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743 by founding father Benjamin Franklin, continues to operate to this day. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... President Harding and the National Academy of Sciences at the White House, Washington, DC, April 1921 The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the worlds largest organization of physicists. ... The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the worlds largest organization of physicists. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Optical Society of America (OSA) is a research and education organization in the field of optics. ... The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. ... The Franklin Institute is the memorial to Benjamin Franklin, that serves to perpetuate his legacy; the museum contains many of Franklins personal effects. ...

President Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1930-1954)

In 1930 Compton accepted an invitation from the MIT Corporation to be president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), an engineering school that was redefining the relationship between engineering and science. He took office at the beginning of the Great Depression in America, a time of economic turmoil and a time when science was under attack as a source of social ills and national despair. Compton was to strengthen basic scientific research at the Institute while becoming a spokesman for science and technology. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a university located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MITs greatest strengths are in science, technology, management, economics, linguistics, political science, and philosophy. ... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a university located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MITs greatest strengths are in science, technology, management, economics, linguistics, political science, and philosophy. ... Engineering applies scientific and technical knowledge to solve human problems. ... // What is science? There are various understandings of the word science. According to empiricism, scientific theories are objective, empirically testable, and predictive — they predict empirical results that can be checked and possibly contradicted. ... The Great Depression was a massive global economic recession (or depression) that ran from 1929 to approximately 1939. ... America is usually meant as either: The United States of America In the United States and other parts of the world (particularly English-speaking nations), America is used almost exclusively to refer to the U.S. However, such use is highly contested elsewhere. ... Economics (deriving from the Greek words οίκω [okos], house, and νέμω [nemo], rules hence household management) is the social science that studies the allocation of scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants. ... // What is science? There are various understandings of the word science. According to empiricism, scientific theories are objective, empirically testable, and predictive — they predict empirical results that can be checked and possibly contradicted. ...

During Compton's service as President the organization went through a revolutionary change. He developed a new approach to education in science and engineering, the influence of which was felt far beyond MIT. Significantly, he was active in the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education, and president in 1938. He was a leader in establishing new standards for the accreditation of engineering criteria through his role as chairman of the Committee on Engineering Schools of the Engineer's Council for Professional Development. He believed in broad based education for scientists and engineers that was responsive to the needs of the time, and that science should be an element of industrial progress. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a university located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MITs greatest strengths are in science, technology, management, economics, linguistics, political science, and philosophy. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In the early 1930's Compton joined with members of the APS to form the American Institute of Physics (AIP). While he was chairman of the board during (1931-1936) the organization became a federation of several disparate societies for developing subject areas in physics. It sponsored publication of research results in the rapidly expanding study of physics during that era. 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the worlds largest organization of physicists. ... The American Institute of Physics (AIP) is a professional body representing American physicists and publishing physics related journals. ... The American Institute of Physics (AIP) is a professional body representing American physicists and publishing physics related journals. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1948 Compton resigned his post as President of MIT and was elected president of MIT Corporation, a position he held until 1954. 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Cooperation with the Military (1933-1948)

In 1933 US President Roosevelt asked Compton to chair a new Scientific Advisory Board that lasted two years. This put him into a forefront of scientists that perceived a need for reliable scientific advice at the highest levels of government. The start of World War II motivated the start of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC), created in 1940 under the chairmanship of Vannevar Bush. Compton was a member of the NDRC, and became head of Division D which was responsible for assembling a group of academic and industrial engineers and scientists that would study primarily RADAR, fire control and heat radiation. In 1941 the NDRC was assimilated into the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) where Compton chaired the United States Radar Mission to the United Kingdom. With the Japanese Surrender in 1945 World War II came to an end and Compton left the OSRD. 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... In June of 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare. ... In June of 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Vannevar Bush (March 11, 1890 – June 30, 1974) was an American engineer and science administrator, known for his political role in the development of the atomic bomb, and idea of the memex—seen as a pioneering concept for the World Wide Web. ... In June of 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare. ... This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ... A fire-control system is a computer, often mechanical, which is designed to assist a weapon system in hitting its target. ... In June of 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare. ... In June of 1941, the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) superseded the committee structure [of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC)]. The OSRD projects gave the United States and Allied troops more powerful and more accurate bombs, more reliable detonators, lighter and more accurate weapons, safer and more... In June of 1941, the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) superseded the committee structure [of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC)]. The OSRD projects gave the United States and Allied troops more powerful and more accurate bombs, more reliable detonators, lighter and more accurate weapons, safer and more... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... In June of 1941, the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) superseded the committee structure [of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC)]. The OSRD projects gave the United States and Allied troops more powerful and more accurate bombs, more reliable detonators, lighter and more accurate weapons, safer and more...

Awards and Honoraria

The Compton crater was named for he and his brother Arthur, who was also an influential scientist. Compton is a prominent lunar crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. ... Arthur H. Compton on the cover of Time Magazine, January 13, 1936 Arthur Holly Compton (September 10, 1892 – March 15, 1962) won the Nobel Prize in Physics (1927) for discovery of the effect named after him. ...

Karl Taylor Compton was also a member of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC), formed in 1940 to "to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare." Most of this work remains top secret, however the NDRC is known to have overseen development of the atomic bomb, the DUKW amphibious vehicle, missle guidance systems, RADAR and SONAR. In June of 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare. ... In June of 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Control panels and operators for calutrons at the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ... Duck boat tour in Boston A DUKW on a London tourist trip A DUKW on the Thames in London Wikimedia Commons has media related to: DUKW The DUKW, popularly called the DUCK, is a six-wheel-drive amphibious truck developed by the United States during World War II for transporting... During World War 2, Project Pigeon (or Project Orcon) was American behaviourist B. F. Skinners attempt to develop a pigeon-guided missile. ... This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ... The F70 type frigates (here, La Motte-Picquet) are fitted with VDS (Variable Depth Sonar) type DUBV43 or DUBV43C tugged sonars SONAR (SOund Navigation And Ranging) â€” or sonar â€” is a technique that uses sound propagation under water to navigate or to detect other watercraft. ...

Links

Photograph of Kart Taylor Compton and other members of the NDRC

Presidents of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

William Barton Rogers (1862–1870, 1879–1881) | John Daniel Runkle (1870–1878) | Francis Amasa Walker (1881–1897) | James Crafts (1897–1900) | Henry Smith Pritchett (1900–1907) | Arthur Amos Noyes (acting 1907–1909) | Richard Cockburn Maclaurin (1909–1920) | Elihu Thomson (acting 1920–1921, 1922–1923) | Ernest Fox Nichols (1921–1922) | Samuel Wesley Stratton (1923–1930) | Karl Taylor Compton (1930–1948) | James Rhyne Killian (1948–1959) | Julius Adams Stratton (1959–1966) | Howard Wesley Johnson (1966–1971) | Jerome Wiesner (1971–1980) | Paul Edward Gray (1980–1990) | Charles Marstiller Vest (1990–2004) | Susan Hockfield (2004—)