Nuclear physics

Interviewed by
David Zierler
Interview date
Location
Video conference
Abstract

In this interview, David Zierler, Oral Historian for AIP, interviews Daniel Zajfman, Institute Professor of Physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science, chair of the academic board of the Israel Science Foundation, chair of the Davidson Institute of Science Education, and Chair of the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Center. Zajfman reviews some of the scientific and administrative challenges he has experienced during the pandemic, and the leadership role the Weizmann Institute has taken to navigate out of the crisis. He recounts his childhood in Belgium and his early interests in science, and he explains how his early inclinations toward Zionism coalesced into his decision to become an Israeli citizen and attend undergraduate school at the Technion. Zajfman discusses his undergraduate and graduate research in atomic physics, under the direction of Dov Maor. He describes his long-term interest in single ion atom collisions and his postdoctoral research at Argonne Lab, where he developed a complete analysis program that allowed the reconstruction of molecular geometries. Zajfman explains the circumstances leading to his initial appointment in the department of nuclear physics at the Weizmann Institute. He discusses his collaboration at the Max Planck Institute on dissociative recombination for a simple, cold, molecular ion, and he explains his contributions on research on gravitational collapse of interstellar clouds. Zajfman conveys his feelings, being the son of Holocaust survivors, on the significance of his collaborations in Germany. He describes the trajectory he was on that led to his tenure as president of the Weizmann Institute, and he explains how he balanced his administrative responsibilities with his strong desire to work in the lab as much as he could. Zajfman reflects on his accomplishments as president and the many responsibilities he could not foresee taking on, and he discusses Weizmann’s work with the Israeli Ministry of Science and its successful record of recruitment on the basis of the Institute being a purely “Curiosity Driven” center of science. At the end of the interview, Zajfman reflects on his contributions as president, and he conveys his confidence that the Institute has a bright future.

Interviewed by
Eun-Joo Ahn
Interview dates
April 26, May 3, May 8 & May 13, 2024
Location
Wright Laboratory, Yale University
Abstract

Interview with Peter Donald MacDougall Parker, Professor Emeritus of Physics at Yale. Parker recounts his childhood growing up in New York City and Massachusetts, attending Amherst College, the excitement of being a graduate student at Caltech in the 1960s working on nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics, his postgraduate position at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and his move to Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory at Yale University in 1966. Parker recalls over five decades of research, teaching, and service work that includes: experimental nuclear physics and astrophysics work using tandem accelerators, solar neutrino flux, and dark matter search; teaching every single physics course offered at Yale and developing a new course; committee work; the gradual changes in gender demographics in the physics department at Yale. Also prominently mentioned are Willy Fowler, Richard Kavanaugh, Thomas Tombrello, John Bahcall, Ray Davis Jr., Allan Bromley, and his twin brother Robert Parker.

Interviewed by
Joanna Behrman
Interview dates
November 3 & 10, 2020, January 20 & February 9, 2021
Location
Video conference
Abstract

Interview with Janice Button-Shafer, retired American physicist. Button-Shafer recounts her childhood in the Boston area, where her father worked as an engineer. She recalls the influence of her father on her interests in music, math and physics. Button-Shafer discusses her decision to study Engineering Physics at Cornell University, despite it being very uncommon for women to go into science. She discusses her summer jobs at MIT, Cornell Aeronautical Lab and Oak Ridge, as well as her experience writing for The Cornell Engineer magazine. Button-Shafer recounts her Fulbright Fellowship in Germany at the Max Planck Institute in Gottingen, focusing on neutron physics. She reflects on the political landscape during this time and how it affected science in Europe. Button-Shafer then recounts her decision to attend Berkeley for graduate school where she completed her thesis on parity violation while teaching courses such as quantum mechanics. She describes her research at the time at Lawrence Berkeley Lab and SLAC and discusses her work on thermonuclear energy and fusion reactors. She then turns to her move to University of Massachusetts Amherst and her eventual retirement and continuation of work at SLAC. Button-Shafer also talks about her marriage to mathematician John Shafer and the challenges of raising three children, one of whom battled cancer, during her demanding career as a scientist. Throughout the interview, Button-Shafer shares numerous anecdotes about the struggles of being a woman in a male-dominated field, including the discrimination and misogyny she endured throughout her career. She shares many stories of famous physicists she worked with over the years, including Owen Chamberlain, Emilio Segre, Luis Alvarez, Karl Heinz Beckhurts, and Edward Teller. Button-Shafer also shares her passion for the history of physics and relays many of her favorite historical tidbits involving scientists such as Lise Meitner, Marie Curie, Werner Heisenberg, and others. Her love of chamber music and classical music also comes up throughout the interview, as she reflects on her various musical accomplishments.

Interviewed by
Michael Stinson
Interview date
Location
National Research Council in Ottawa, Ontario
Abstract

Interview with Gilles Daigle. The interview begins with Daigle discussing his current work at MG Acoustics, a small consulting R&D firm. Then he recalls joining Acoustical Society of America (ASA) as a master’s student after being encouraged to join by his thesis supervisor, Tony Embleton. Daigle overviews the committees he has served on and positions he held within ASA over the years, culminating in his term as president from 2007-2008. Daigle then recounts his childhood in New Brunswick and how a chemistry project in high school inspired him to major in chemistry at the University of Moncton. However, he changed his major to physics and worked in a small nuclear physics lab. Daigle describes pursuing his master’s degree at Carleton University in Ottawa, initially studying nuclear physics but eventually switching to acoustics, where he studied atmospheric turbulence. He continued at Carleton for his doctorate and took a teaching position at University of Moncton, before accepting a position with National Research Council Canada, where he remained for 30 years. At the end of the interview, Daigle discusses the creation of MG Acoustics, the awards he has received from the ASA, his family life, and his avid interest in bird photography.

Interviewed by
Joanna Behrman
Interview dates
April 30 & May 8, 2020
Location
Video conference
Abstract

In these interviews, Joanna Behrman, Assistant Public Historian for AIP, interviews Steven Moszkowski, Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles. He describes his family background and childhood in Germany. Moszkowski recounts how he and his family, particularly his grandparents, were friends of Albert Einstein. He recalls the rise of the Nazis and how he and his parents emigrated to the United States. He describes joining the Army after high school and being transferred to work at the Metallurgical Laboratory under Robert Sachs. He explains how he became interested in nuclear physics and earned his Ph.D. under Maria Goeppert-Mayer. Moszkowski describes working with Chien-Shiung Wu at Columbia on beta decay and coauthoring a book together. He recounts moving from Columbia to UCLA where he also consulted for the Rand Corporation and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He discusses the evolution of research on nuclear models including Goeppert-Mayer’s shell model and his own interest in the nuclear many-body problem. Moszkowski explains the origins of the division between nuclear theorists and particle theorists. He describes how he generalized Goeppert-Mayer’s delta interaction and named it the surface delta interaction which became a focus of research for many years. He then describes the social and personal upheavals he experienced during the 1960s He recounts the importance of travel and collaboration in his research, particularly his travel to Hungary, the European Center for Theoretical Studies in Nuclear Physics and Related Areas (ECT*) in Trento, and the University of Coimbra in Portugal. He recalls his interactions with many colleagues in physics including Judit Nemeth, Yoichiro Nambu, Murph Goldberger, and Murray Gell-Mann. Moszkowski describes his impressions on the status of women in physics and his biography of Goeppert-Mayer as part of a volume edited by Nina Byers and Gary Williams. Moszkowski concludes with his impressions of Enrico Fermi, Leo Szilard, Werner Heisenberg, Nambu, and Hans Bethe.

Interviewed by
David Zierler
Interview date
Location
Video conference
Abstract

Interview with Berndt Müller, James B. Duke Professor of Physics at Duke University. The interview begins with Müller discussing his current work on quark-gluon plasma physics and the connections between nuclear physics and cosmology. Müller then recounts his family history in Germany during and after WWII, as well as his childhood in West Germany. He recalls his undergraduate studies at Goethe University Frankfurt, where it was the inspiring lectures that catalyzed his enthusiasm for physics. Müller explains the heavy ion research he was involved in at the time, as well as his master’s thesis on the Dirac equation. He recounts his first visit to Berkeley Lab in 1972 and his subsequent acceptance of a postdoc at University of Washington and a fellowship at Yale. Müller then returned to Frankfurt as an associate professor and explains how he got involved in quark-gluon plasma research. Müller talks about the creation of the RHIC and how that led him to pursue his next job in the US, landing at Duke. He discusses his involvement with the Institute of Nuclear Theory at the University of Washington, as well as his work at Brookhaven over the years. Müller recalls the pros and cons of the administrative side of academia, which he experienced as the Chair of the Faculty of Physics and then Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Duke. The interview concludes with Müller’s reflections on winning the Feshbach Prize and his predictions for the future of theoretical nuclear physics.

Interviewed by
David Zierler
Location
Video conference
Abstract

The interviewee has not given permission for this interview to be shared at this time. Transcripts will be updated as they become available to the public. For any questions about this policy, please contact .

Interviewed by
David Zierler
Location
Video conference
Abstract

The interviewee has not given permission for this interview to be shared at this time. Transcripts will be updated as they become available to the public. For any questions about this policy, please contact .

Interviewed by
David Zierler
Interview date
Location
Video conference
Abstract

Interview with Herman B. White, physicist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. White recounts his childhood in Tuskegee, Alabama and growing up during segregation. He discusses his early interests in science and his decision to enroll at Earlham College in Indiana as an undergraduate. White then describes his time at Michigan State University as a graduate student, during which he also held a position as a resident research associate at Argonne National Laboratory. Dr. White talks about his transition from nuclear physics to particle physics upon completing his master’s degree at MSU. He discusses the events that led him to accept a position at Fermilab rather than immediately pursue a PhD. White was the first African-American scientist appointed at Fermilab, and he recounts his early years there being mentored by Raymond Stefanski. He then describes his research fellowship at Yale and his non-traditional path to getting a PhD in 1991 from Florida State University. White talks about returning to Fermilab to work on kaon physics, and his eventual involvement in the Tevatron experiment. Toward the end of the interview, White reflects on the changes and trends he has seen in the research being done at Fermilab over the years, as well as his involvement in the National Society of Black Physicists.

Interviewed by
David Zierler
Interview date
Location
Video conference
Abstract

Interview with Daniel R. Marlow, Evans Crawford Class of 1911 Professor of Physics, at Princeton University. Marlow recounts his childhood in Ontario and his father’s military appointment which brought his family to the United States when he was fourteen. He describes his undergraduate experience at Carnegie Mellon and the considerations that compelled him to remain for his graduate work in physics. Marlow describes his thesis research under the direction of Peter Barnes and his research visits to Los Alamos, Brookhaven, and JLab, and he surveys the theoretical advances that were relevant to his experimental work. He explains his decision to stay at CMU as a postdoctoral researcher and as an assistant professor, and he describes his interests which straddled the boundary between particle physics and nuclear physics. Marlow describes the opportunities leading to his faculty appointment at Princeton by way of the research in k+ and pi+nu nu-bar experiments at CERN. He discusses his involvement in planning for the SSC, and how the Gem collaboration was designed to find the Higgs and supersymmetry before the LHC. Marlow discusses the e787 experiment and the lesson gained that rare kaon decay experiments are more difficult than they appear at first glance. Marlow describes the origins of the Belle project in Japan at KEK and its relationship to BaBar, and he explains how finding the Higgs was the capstone to the Standard Model. He surveys the current state of play in experimental particle physics and why he encourages students to follow their interests without overly analyzing future trends in the field. At the end of the interview, Marlow describes his current interest in studying displaced vertices and long-lived particle searches, and he muses that toward the end of his career, he wants to become more of a “graduate student” so that he can focus more exclusively on the physics that is most compelling to him.