Walter Heinrich Heitler (02.01.1904 – 15.11.1981) was a German – Irish physicist. His research demonstrated the power of quantum mechanics by applying and developing it with great success to a number of diverse areas, including the valence bond theory, radiation theory, cosmic rays and quantum field theory. DO HWA MECHANICS[chang rhinn`theorem] ... The valence bond theory considers that the overlapping atomic orbitals of the participating atoms form a chemical bond. ... Radiation has a variety of different meanings. ... Cosmic rays can loosely be defined as energetic particles originating outside of the Earth. ... Quantum field theory (QFT) is the application of quantum mechanics to fields. ...

Biographical dates:

Born 02.01.1904 in Karlsruhe; PhD Munich 1926; Habilitation Göttingen 1929; Research Fellow Bristol 1933 – 1941; Professor Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 1941 – 1949; Director Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (successor of E. Schrödinger) 1946 – 1949; Professor of Theoretical Physics and Director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics University of Zürich 1949 – 1974; died 15.11.1981 in Zollikon near Zürich.

Honorary doctor: The universities of Dublin (1954), Göttingen (1968), Uppsala (1973).

Fellow: Royal Irish Academy (1943), Royal Society of London (1948).

Honorary member: Kungl. Vetenskaps Societetens of Uppsala (1967), Leopoldina in Halle (1968), Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur of Mainz (1970), Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab (1974), etc.

Prizes: Max Planck Medal (1968), Marcel Benoist Preis (1970), Gold Medal of the Humboldt Gesellschaft (1979), etc.

See also:

L. O’Raifeartaigh and G. Rasche: Walter Heitler 1904-81, in “Creators of Mathematics, The Irish Connection”, ed. Ken Houston, University College Dublin Press, 2000.

Sir Nevill Mott, F.R.S.: Walter Heinrich Heitler 1904-1981, in “ Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society”, Volume 28, 141, (Nov. 1982).