Portrait of Yoichiro Nambu in his office at the University of Chicago.
Nambu Yoichiro A2. The University of Chicago, Courtesy of AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives
Yoichiro Nambu (left) stands with Edward Purcell after winning the Dannie Heineman Prize.
Nambu Yoichiro C1. AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives
Yoichiro Nambu after receiving the AIP/APS Dannie Heineman Prize in 1970. He was awarded “for his diverse and profound contributions to theory, specifically for analysis of symmetry breaking into particle physics and of gauge invariance in the BCS theory of superconductivity, as examples of mathematical physics.” To his right, stands the then-President of the American Physical Society, Edward Purcell.
Yoichiro Nambu accepts award from Herwig Schopper and Abdus Salam.
Nambu Yoichiro C3. Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics, courtesy of AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Physics Today Collection
In this photo, Herwig Schopper and Abdus Salam present Yoichiro Nambu with the 1986 Dirac Prize of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics.
Yoichiro Nambu receiving the Wolf Prize.
Nambu Yoichiro D3. AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Physics Today Collection
Yoichiro Nambu receiving the Wolf Prize in Physics . Nambu was awarded “for his contribution to elementary particle theory, including recognition of the role played by spontaneous symmetry breaking in analogy with superconductivity theory, and the discovery of the color symmetry of the strong interactions.”
University of Chicago Physics Department.
University of Chicago E5. Photograph by Patricia Evans, The University of Chicago, courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Physics Today Collection
Some of the faculty of The University of Chicago Physics Department, taken on the steps of the Ryerson Physical Laboratories. Nambu can be seen among his colleagues in the second row from the front, fifth from the left.
Julian Schwinger, Yoichiro Nambu, Robert E. Marshak and Werner Heisenberg at International Conference.
Schwinger Julian D1. Photo by Michael J. Moravcsik, courtesy of AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives
This photo of Nambu was taken at the International Conference in Geneva, Switzerland in July of 1962. He is shown standing beside a table where Julian Schwinger, Robert Marshak, Werner Heisenberg and others sit conversing.
Portrait of Yoichiro Nambu.
Nambu Yoichiro A4. Photo by Lloyd DeGrane, University of Chicago, courtesy AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, W. F. Meggers Gallery of Nobel Laureates Collection
Portrait of Yoichiro Nambu in 2008, after being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics.”
Nambu did not deliver a Nobel Lecture, due to health concerns for himself and his wife. Instead, he asked his long-time friend and collaborator, Giovanni Jona-Lasinio, to give the lecture in his place. I really enjoyed this article by Jona-Lasinio, in which he remembers his friend. I hoped to find a photo of the two of them for our photo-of-the-month viewing pleasure, but I could not. Still, my afternoon was brightened a bit by reading the kind things Jona-Lasinio had to say in honor of his companion.
These are just a few photos from Nambu’s career, but I hope they have left you feeling better acquainted with his accomplishments.
Part of what I love about my job is the ability to become familiar with the lives of scientific figures. Not just their work and areas of study (which often go over my head anyway, if I’m being honest), but their lives. I feel privileged to see glimpses of the experiences, thoughts, and personalities of others through their photographs and oral histories. In addition to these photos, NBLA also holds an oral history interview of Nambu from 2004. In the interview, he discusses his education, his time in the Japanese Army during WWII, his role in the development of the physics department at Osaka City University, his immigration to the United States to work at Princeton University and the University of Chicago, and his eventual retirement. Check it out!
That’s all for the January Photos of the Month! If you’d like to subscribe to monthly email updates about POTM and the rest of the Ex Libris blog, subscribe to AIP History Monthly Update.
