Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich]

Interview with Willy Haeberli, Professor of Physics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. Haeberli recounts his childhood in Basel, Switzerland, and he describes his experiences as a student during World War II. He discusses his early interest in physics and his decision to pursue nuclear physics at the University of Basel under the direction of Paul Huber. Haeberli describes his graduate research on the ionization of gasses by alpha particles, and he describes the circumstances leading to his subsequent postdoctoral job at the University of Wisconsin, where he was attracted to work with Raymond Herb in accelerator physics. He explains some of the scientific and cultural adjustments in order to settle in at Madison, and he describes the central questions of the structure of atomic nuclei that propelled nuclear physics at that time. He describes his subsequent research at Duke University before returning to Madison to join the faculty, he describes his many research visits to ETH Zurich, the Max Planck Institute, Fermilab, Saclay, and at DESY in Hamburg, and he offers insight on some of the differences in approach between American and European accelerator labs. Haeberli reflects on his contributions to the study of polarized protons and deuterons and angular momentum assignments. He discusses his work developing gas targets of pure spin polarized hydrogen and deuteron atoms, and he describes the critical support of the DOE and the NSF for this research. Haeberli shares his feelings on being elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and he explains his preference teaching undergraduates to graduate students. At the end of the interview, Haeberli describes how the department of physics at Wisconsin has changes over his decades of service, and he explains how only with the benefit of historical hindsight can one distinguish the truly important advances in the field. 

Interview with Robert H. Brandenberger, Canada Research Chair and professor of physics at McGill University. Brandenberger recounts his childhood in Switzerland as the son of organic chemists, and he describes his undergraduate education at the ETH Zurich in physics. He discusses his graduate research at Harvard to work under the direction of Arthur Jaffe, and he describes his first exposure to cosmic inflation. Brandenberger describes his postdoctoral appointment at the ITP in Santa Barbara where he worked with Neil Turok and Andreas Albrecht, and his subsequent postdoctoral work with Stephen Hawking at Cambridge. He explains his initial ideas on cosmic strings as an alternative to inflation and his encounters with Cumrun Vafa and Slava Mukhanov. Brandenberger describes the origins of string gas cosmology, its implications for a multiverse and how it was received among string theorists. He discusses his faculty appointment at Brown and he explains his decision to move to McGill where the opportunity to work with graduate students was stronger. Brandenberger surmises what string theory as a testable proposition would look like, and he reflects on some of the obvious philosophical implications of unknowability in the universe. He explains the difference between a toy model and a proper theory, and he conveys optimism that string gas cosmology will advance research on dark energy. At the end of the interview, Brandenberger reflects on the idea that string theory is "smarter than we are."

Interview with Bertram Batlogg, Professor Emeritus at ETH Zurich. Batlogg surveys his current interests in topological superconductivity and superconductivity in twisted layer graphene, and he connects this current research with his own work at Bell Labs earlier in his career. He considers the current state of play in high-Tc research and he recounts his family's Austrian heritage and his upbringing early interests in physics. Batlogg describes his undergraduate experience at ETH Zurich and his reasons for remaining to complete his PhD thesis work. He describes Bell Labs as the Mecca for his research as a postdoctoral fellow and then as a staff scientist. Batlogg discusses his work on Hall effect measurements, superconductivity, and heavy Fermions, and he describes his tenure as head of the solid state physics and materials research division.  He describes the culture of basic science and how it changed from the 1980s to the 1990s, and he discusses his formative collaborations with Bob Cava and 1-2-3 YBCO. He narrates the story of meeting Jan Hendrik Schön and the issues that would lead to the investigation led by Mac Beasley. Batlogg conveys the scientific and emotional turmoil of this episode and the impact this episode had on his sense of trust in people. He describes participating in the investigation after he had already left Bell Labs to return to ETH Zurich to build up a research group with a focus that included topics such as charge dynamics and heavy Fermions in very high magnetic fields. At the end of the interview, Batlogg emphasizes advances in data acquisition and spectroscopy that propelled the field forward over his career, and he considers how some his research can contribute in the future to discoveries in both the applied and basic realms of science.

In this interview, Kolumban Hutter discusses topics such as: his work at ETH Zurich; his research in glaciology; graduate degrees at Cornell University in theoretical and applied mechanics; Hans Ziegler; Hans Rothlisberger; Peter Kasser; ice plates; Daniel Vischer; John Nye; John Glen; thermodynamics; Andrew Fowler; Leslie Moreland; International Glaciological Society; hydrodynamics; Richard Sebass; fluid mechanics; physical limnology; visiting professorship at University of Arizona in Tucson; Terry Hughes; ice sheets and shelves; teaching at Darmstadt University of Technology; Ernst Becker; Reinhard Calov; Mary Williams; cold-temperate transition surface (CTS); global climate models; and working at Academia Sinica, Taiwan.

Childhood and major influences; college education at Harvard University; position at Edward C. Worden Co., position at Columbia University's chemistry department as a graduate student and instructor, as a professor, and as the department chairman; history of chemistry department's administration. Major emphasis on his research results and papers spanning his entire career; Hammett equation and acidity theory; his contact with students Henry P. Treffers, Martin Paul, Lois Zucker. Work during the World War I and World War II; consulting work; development of the field of physical organic chemistry and opinion of the future of chemistry. Philosophy of research; talk with Mrs. Hammett. Also prominently mentioned are: Roger Adams, Adkins, Bernard Auchincloss, Paul Doughty Bartlett, Hal Beans, Ernst Bodenstein, Marston Bogert, Branch, Breslow, Johannes Brn︣sted, Joseph Bunnett, Burkhardt, Mary Caldwell, Ray Christ, James Bryant Conant, Ralph Connor, Alder J. Deyrup, John R. Dunning, Henry Eyring, Leo Flexser, George S. Forbes, Ernie Grunwald, Janet Hammett, Arthur R. Hantzsch, Christopher Ingold, Iserman, James Kendall, Elmer Kohler, A. B. Lamb, Irving Langmuir, Jose Levy, Gilbert Newton Lewis, Willard Frank Libby, Bill McEwan, J. L. R. Morgan, Rosetta Natoli, J. M. Nelson, James Flack Norris, Louis Plack, Michael Polanyi, T. W. Richards, R. Robinson, Smith, Alexander Smith, E. F. Smith, Hermann Staudinger, Julius Stieglitz, Arthur Thomas, Harold Clayton Urey, George Walden, Chaim Weizmann, E. C. Worden, Theodore Zucker, Dick Zuemer; Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity, American Chemical Society, Commercial Solvents Co., E. I. duPont de Nemours & Company, Inc., Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule at Zurich, Johns Hopkins University, Manhattan Project, Petroleum Research Fund, Rohm and Haas Co., United States President's Science Advisory Committee, Universal Oil Production Corporation, University of California at Los Angeles, University of Illinois, and University of Wisconsin.

Childhood and major influences; college education at Harvard University; position at Edward C. Worden Co., position at Columbia University's chemistry department as a graduate student and instructor, as a professor, and as the department chairman; history of chemistry department's administration. Major emphasis on his research results and papers spanning his entire career; Hammett equation and acidity theory; his contact with students Henry P. Treffers, Martin Paul, Lois Zucker. Work during the World War I and World War II; consulting work; development of the field of physical organic chemistry and opinion of the future of chemistry. Philosophy of research; talk with Mrs. Hammett. Also prominently mentioned are: Roger Adams, Adkins, Bernard Auchincloss, Paul Doughty Bartlett, Hal Beans, Ernst Bodenstein, Marston Bogert, Branch, Breslow, Johannes Brn︣sted, Joseph Bunnett, Burkhardt, Mary Caldwell, Ray Christ, James Bryant Conant, Ralph Connor, Alder J. Deyrup, John R. Dunning, Henry Eyring, Leo Flexser, George S. Forbes, Ernie Grunwald, Janet Hammett, Arthur R. Hantzsch, Christopher Ingold, Iserman, James Kendall, Elmer Kohler, A. B. Lamb, Irving Langmuir, Jose Levy, Gilbert Newton Lewis, Willard Frank Libby, Bill McEwan, J. L. R. Morgan, Rosetta Natoli, J. M. Nelson, James Flack Norris, Louis Plack, Michael Polanyi, T. W. Richards, R. Robinson, Smith, Alexander Smith, E. F. Smith, Hermann Staudinger, Julius Stieglitz, Arthur Thomas, Harold Clayton Urey, George Walden, Chaim Weizmann, E. C. Worden, Theodore Zucker, Dick Zuemer; Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity, American Chemical Society, Commercial Solvents Co., E. I. duPont de Nemours & Company, Inc., Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule at Zurich, Johns Hopkins University, Manhattan Project, Petroleum Research Fund, Rohm and Haas Co., United States President's Science Advisory Committee, Universal Oil Production Corporation, University of California at Los Angeles, University of Illinois, and University of Wisconsin.

Part of the Archives for the History of Quantum Physics collection, which includes tapes and transcripts of oral history interviews conducted with circa 100 atomic and quantum physicists. Subjects discuss their family backgrounds, how they became interested in physics, their educations, people who influenced them, their careers including social influences on the conditions of research, and the state of atomic, nuclear, and quantum physics during the period in which they worked. Discussions of scientific matters relate to work that was done between approximately 1900 and 1930, with an emphasis on the discovery and interpretations of quantum mechanics in the 1920s. Also prominently mentioned are: Niels Henrik David Bohr, Max Born, Léon Brillouin, Louis de Broglie, Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir, Paul Drude, Paul Ehrenfest, Albert Einstein, Walter Friedrich, Dirk ter Haar, Fritz Hasenöhrl, Werner Heisenberg, David Hilbert, Heinz Hopf, Herman Julius, Felix Klein, A. Kleiner, Paul Langevin, Max Theodor Felix von Laue, Fritz London, Gustav Mie, Walther Nernst, A. A. Noyes, Max Planck, W.C. Röntgen, Paul Scherrer, Erwin Schrödinger, Arnold Sommerfeld, Pierre Weiss, Max Wien, Wilhelm Wien, Zangger, Zermelo; Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Universität Leipzig, and Universität München.

Part of the Archives for the History of Quantum Physics collection, which includes tapes and transcripts of oral history interviews conducted with circa 100 atomic and quantum physicists. Subjects discuss their family backgrounds, how they became interested in physics, their educations, people who influenced them, their careers including social influences on the conditions of research, and the state of atomic, nuclear, and quantum physics during the period in which they worked. Discussions of scientific matters relate to work that was done between approximately 1900 and 1930, with an emphasis on the discovery and interpretations of quantum mechanics in the 1920s. Also prominently mentioned are: Niels Henrik David Bohr, Max Born, Léon Brillouin, Louis de Broglie, Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir, Paul Drude, Paul Ehrenfest, Albert Einstein, Walter Friedrich, Dirk ter Haar, Fritz Hasenöhrl, Werner Heisenberg, David Hilbert, Heinz Hopf, Herman Julius, Felix Klein, A. Kleiner, Paul Langevin, Max Theodor Felix von Laue, Fritz London, Gustav Mie, Walther Nernst, A. A. Noyes, Max Planck, W.C. Röntgen, Paul Scherrer, Erwin Schrödinger, Arnold Sommerfeld, Pierre Weiss, Max Wien, Wilhelm Wien, Zangger, Zermelo; Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Universität Leipzig, and Universität München.

Part of the Archives for the History of Quantum Physics collection, which includes tapes and transcripts of oral history interviews conducted with circa 100 atomic and quantum physicists. Subjects discuss their family backgrounds, how they became interested in physics, their educations, people who influenced them, their careers including social influences on the conditions of research, and the state of atomic, nuclear, and quantum physics during the period in which they worked. Discussions of scientific matters relate to work that was done between approximately 1900 and 1930, with an emphasis on the discovery and interpretations of quantum mechanics in the 1920s. Also prominently mentioned are: Niels Henrik David Bohr, Max Born, Léon Brillouin, Louis de Broglie, Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir, Paul Drude, Paul Ehrenfest, Albert Einstein, Walter Friedrich, Dirk ter Haar, Fritz Hasenöhrl, Werner Heisenberg, David Hilbert, Heinz Hopf, Herman Julius, Felix Klein, A. Kleiner, Paul Langevin, Max Theodor Felix von Laue, Fritz London, Gustav Mie, Walther Nernst, A. A. Noyes, Max Planck, W.C. Röntgen, Paul Scherrer, Erwin Schrödinger, Arnold Sommerfeld, Pierre Weiss, Max Wien, Wilhelm Wien, Zangger, Zermelo; Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Universität Leipzig, and Universität München.

Recollections of physics community in 1920s and early 1930s; opportunities for physics work in Europe; awareness of political climate in Germany (1932); relationship with Werner Heisenberg at University of Leipzig; awarded Rockefeller Fellowship to study at University of Rome; contacts with physicists after Leipzig and before Rome; John Von Neumann's list of refugee physicists; offered appointment to position at Stanford University; visit to University of Copenhagen and Niels Bohr's advice to accept appointment; relinquishing of second half of fellowship; influenced by Bohr, Heisenberg and others; Bloch's influence on Enrico Fermi leading to theory of neutrino; met by Gregory Breit on arrival in New York; initial teaching duties at Stanford; theoretical physics in America in 1934; distinctions between Europe and America on theory vs. experiment; seminars with J. Robert Oppenheimer; first interest in experimental work; early research on neutrons; recollections of 1935 Michigan Summer School; started Stanford Summer School in 1936 with George Gamow as first visitor (Fermi 1937, Isidor Isaac Rabi 1938, Victor F. Weisskopf 1939); origin of idea of neutron polarization; 1936 paper proposing neutron magnetic moment experiment; 1937 Galvani Conference in Bologna; use of Berkeley 37-inch cyclotron for magnetic moment experiment; decision to build cyclotron at Stanford; construction supported by Rockefeller Foundation; initial involvement with Manhattan Project; recollections of receiving news of fission; neutron work for Manhattan Project at Stanford; marriage in 1940; work on implosion at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory; reasons for leaving Los Alamos; work on radar at Harvard University; first ideas on measuring nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR); helpfulness of radar experience in NMR work; William W. Hansen and the klystron; fate of the first Stanford cyclotron; knowledge of Edward M. Purcell's work on NMR; publication of initial results, 1946-1948; Rabi and Polykarp Kusch's work on molecular beams; development of NMR field; Nobel Prize award; association with CERN, 1954; contributions of greatest impact.