Donald William Kerst
Donald William Kerst (born November 1, 1911 in Galena , Illinois , † August 19, 1993 in Madison , Wisconsin) was an American physicist who built the betatron in 1940 independently of others .
Life
Kerst was born in Galena, Illinois. He studied at the University of Wisconsin , where he received a bachelor's degree in 1934 and a Ph.D. in 1937. The following year he worked for General Electric , then he taught from 1938 to 1957 at the University of Illinois , most recently as a professor. During the Second World War he worked as part of the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos , New Mexico. From 1957 to 1962 he worked for General Dynamics at their nuclear laboratory (General Atomic Laboratory, now General Atomics ) in La Jollaactive. He then taught as a professor at the University of Wisconsin until his retirement in 1980. From 1972 to 1973 he was chairman of the plasma physics division of the American Physical Society .
The first functional betatron was developed in 1935 by Max Steenbeck in the research laboratory of Siemens-Schuckertwerke Berlin, but initially kept secret and not pursued because of other priorities. Kerst also built a betatron at the University of Illinois that accelerated electrons to an energy of 2.3 MeV . Kerst is therefore now considered the inventor of the betatron, but in his publication in the Physical Review he explicitly referred to Rolf Wideröe , who had the idea for the betatron back in the 1920s. He did not mention Steenbeck's work, although he must have known it from General Electric's collaboration with Siemens.
In the period that followed, under his leadership (in Illinois, Los Alamos, at General Electric), other betatron models of increasing performance were developed, most recently up to 300 MeV (University of Illinois). From 1953 to 1957, as the technical director of the research association of the Midwestern Universities (MURA), he presented more advanced concepts for particle acceleration. Later he worked on problems of plasma physics, especially the control of fusion reactors . There he worked with Tihiro Ohkawa .
At General Atomics he devoted himself to plasma physics and nuclear fusion research.
Kerst enjoyed a legendary reputation in the teaching of physics.
Donald William Kerst was married to Dorothy Birkett Kerst and the couple had two children.
He died of a brain tumor in the University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.
honors and awards
- Fellow of the American Physical Society , 1940.
- Comstock Prize in Physics of the National Academy of Sciences , 1943
- John Scott Award from the City of Philadelphia, 1946.
- Franklin Institute's John Price Wetherill Medal , 1950.
- James Clerk Maxwell Prize in Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society ., 1984
- Robert R. Wilson Prize in Acceleration Physics, 1988.
- Honorary Doctorate from Lawrence University , 1942.
- Honorary doctorate from the University of São Paulo , 1953.
- Honorary Doctorate from the University of Illinois, 1989.
- Elected to the National Academy of Sciences , 1951.
- Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , 1988.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Malcolm L. Browne: Donald William Kerst Dies at 81; Built Particle Accelerators in 40's , The New York Times. August 20, 1993. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ A b c Andrew M. Sessler, Symon, Keith R .: Donald William Kerst . National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ Sessler, Wilson Engines of Creation , World Scientific 2007
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kerst, Donald William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American physicist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 1, 1911 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Galena (Illinois) |
| DATE OF DEATH | 19th August 1993 |
| Place of death | Madison , Wisconsin |