Victor Weisskopf

Victor Frederick Weisskopf in the 1940s.
Born	19 September 1908 Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Died	22 April 2002 Newton, Massachusetts
Residence	Austria Switzerland Germany Denmark Victor Frederick Weisskopfs photo from Los Alamos National Laboratory, taken from a Los Alamos publication (Los Alamos: Beginning of an era, 1943-1945, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 1986). ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Inhabitants according to official census figures: 1800 to 2005 Vienna in 1858 Vienna (German: Wien ) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... April 22 is the 112th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (113th in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...   Nickname: The Garden City Settled: 1639 â€“ Incorporated: 1688 Zip Code(s): 02446, 02458, 02459, 02460, 02461, 02462, 02464, 02465, 02467, 02468, 02495 â€“ Area Code(s): 617 / 857 Official website: http://www. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Austria. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... United States
Field	Physicist
Institution	University of Leipzig University of Berlin ETH Zurich Bohr Institute University of Rochester Manhattan Project MIT CERN
Alma Mater	University of Göttingen
Academic Advisor	Max Born Eugene Wigner
Notable Students	Kerson Huang J. David Jackson Murray Gell-Mann
Notable Prizes	Wolf Prize (1981)
Religion	Jewish

Weisskopf redirects here. For people known under English version of that name, see Whitehead.

Victor Frederick Weisskopf (September 19, 1908 – April 22, 2002) was an Austrian-American physicist. During World War II he worked at Los Alamos on the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb, and later campaigned against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Weisskopf was a co-founder and board member of the Union of Concerned Scientists. He served as director-general of CERN from 1961-1966. Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... ... The University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig), located in Leipzig in the Free State and former Kingdom of Saxony, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. ... There is no institution called the University of Berlin, but there are four universities in Berlin, Germany: Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Technical University of Berlin (Technische Universität Berlin) Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin) Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der... The ETH Zurich, often called Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is a science and technology university in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. ... The Niels Bohr Institute The Niels Bohr Institute The Niels Bohr Institute is part of the Niels Bohr Institute for Astronomy, Physics and Geophysics of the University of Copenhagen. ... The University of Rochester is a private, coeducational and nonsectarian research institution located in Rochester, New York. ... The Manhattan Project resulted in the development of the first nuclear weapons, and the first-ever nuclear detonation, at the Trinity test of July 16, 1945. ... Mapúa Institute of Technology (MIT, MapúaTech or simply Mapúa) is a private, non-sectarian, Filipino tertiary institute located in Intramuros, Manila. ... CERN logo The Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire (English: European Organization for Nuclear Research), commonly known as CERN, pronounced (or in French), is the worlds largest particle physics laboratory, situated just west of Geneva on the border between France and Switzerland. ... The Georg-August University of Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, often called the Georgia Augusta) was founded in 1734 by George II, King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover, and opened in 1737. ... Max Born (December 11, 1882 in Breslau – January 5, 1970 in Göttingen) was a mathematician and physicist. ... Image File history File links Nobel. ... Eugene Wigner Eugene Paul Wigner (Hungarian Wigner Pál JenÅ‘) (November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian physicist and mathematician who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and... Kerson Huang (黃克孫 pinyin: Huang Kesun), who grew up in Canton, China, is Professor of Physics Emeritus at MIT. His name, however, is mostly familiar to Chinese readers as the translator of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. ... John David Jackson (born 1925) is a physics professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. ... Murray Gell-Mann (born September 15, 1929 in Manhattan, New York City, USA) is an American physicist who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the theory of elementary particles. ... Image File history File links Nobel. ... The Wolf Prize has been awarded annually since 1978 to living scientists and artists for achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among peoples . ... Whitehead can refer to: People: Alfred North Whitehead, a British philosopher and mathematician Cortlandt Whitehead (1842-), bishop Commander Edward Whitehead (1908-1978), spokesperson and later president of Schweppes [1] Ennis Clement Whitehead (1895-1964), Lieutenant General U.S. Air Force [2] Gary Whitehead, American poet Gustave Whitehead, German-American aviation... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... April 22 is the 112th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (113th in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian... Los Alamos National Laboratory, aerial view from 1995. ... The Manhattan Project resulted in the development of the first nuclear weapons, and the first-ever nuclear detonation, at the Trinity test of July 16, 1945. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... World map with nuclear weapons development status represented by color. ... The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is an advocacy organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. ... CERN logo The Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire (English: European Organization for Nuclear Research), commonly known as CERN, pronounced (or in French), is the worlds largest particle physics laboratory, situated just west of Geneva on the border between France and Switzerland. ...

Weisskopf was awarded the Max Planck medal in 1956 and the prestigious Prix mondial Cino Del Duca in 1972, National Medal of Science (1980), Wolf Prize (1981). The Max Planck medal is an award for extraordinary achievements in theoretical physics. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca (Cino Del Duca World Prize) is a major international literary award established in 1969 in France by Simone Del Duca (1912-2004) to continue the work of her late husband, publishing magnate Cino Del Duca (1899-1967). ... National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science, also called the Presidential Medal of Science, is an honor given by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social... The Wolf Prize has been awarded annually since 1978 to living scientists and artists for achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among peoples . ...

He married Ellen Tvede.

References

• V. Stefan (Editor). PHYSICS and SOCIETY. Essays in Honor of Victor Frederick Weisskopf by the International Community of Physicists. ISBN 1-56396-386-8

Quotes

"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; knowledge without compassion is inhuman."

Books

• Weisskopf, Victor; J. M. Blatt (1952). Theoretical Nuclear Physics. New York: John Wiley. 

• Weisskopf, Victor (1972). Physics in the Twentieth Century: Selected Essays. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. 

• Weisskopf, Victor (1979). Knowledge and Wonder: The Natural World as Man Knows It. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. 

• Weisskopf, Victor; Kurt Gottfried (1984). Concepts of Particle Physics, vol. 1. New York: Oxford University Press. 

• Weisskopf, Victor; Kurt Gottfried (1986). Concepts of Particle Physics, vol. 2. New York: Oxford University Press. 

• Weisskopf, Victor (1989). The Privilege of Being a Physicist. Essays.. New York: W. H. Freeman. 

• Weisskopf, Victor (1991). The Joy of Insight: Passions of a Physicist. New York: Basic Books. 

External links

• National Academy of Sciences biography
• Annotated bibliography for Victor Weisskopf from the Alsos Digital Library
• Obituary of Victor Weisskopf from the MIT News Office
• Rememberance of Victor Weisskopf by Kurt Gottfied