Henry Hurwitz

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Henry Hurwitz Jr. (born December 25, 1918 in New York City , † April 14, 1992 in Schenectady ) was an American physicist who worked in the field of reactor technology .

Life

Henry Hurwitz studied at Cornell University and from 1938 at Harvard University and received his doctorate there in 1941 with a thesis on quantum mechanics . In 1943 he went to Los Alamos (New Mexico) in the working group formed there by Edward Teller , which dealt with the development of the hydrogen bomb . In 1946 he moved to Schenectady to the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) founded in May 1946, which was initially operated by the General Electric Company (GE) and from 1947 by the United States Atomic Energy Commission . From 1947 he worked at the GE Research and Development Center and was responsible for the areas of high-temperature plasma physics, nuclear research and radiation. He made important contributions to the theory and construction of nuclear reactors , such as containment in nuclear power plants. He was involved in 15 patents and played a key role in the development of the nuclear propulsion system for Seawolf-class submarines .

Hurwitz is considered one of the most influential scientists in US industry. He received various awards and honors. In 1953 he became a Fellow of the American Physical Society . He was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science . In 1961, Hurwitz was honored with the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Prize from the Atomic Energy Commission. In 1989 he received the Seaborg Medal from the American Nuclear Society for outstanding scientific contributions to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

literature

  • Bruce Lambert: Henry Hurwitz, 73; Research Physicist Developed Reactors . In: New York Times . April 16, 1992 ( online [accessed July 20, 2017]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stephen B. Libby, Andrew M. Sessler : Edward Teller Biographical Memoir . In: Stephen B. Libby, Karl A. van Bibber (Eds.): Edward Teller Centennial Symposium: Modern Physics and the Scientific Legacy of Edward Teller . World Scientific, Singapore 2010, ISBN 978-981-283-799-8 , pp. 13-61 .
  2. ↑ APS Fellow Archive. American Physical Society, accessed July 19, 2017 .
  3. ^ The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award. Henry Hurwitz, Jr., 1961. US Department of Energy: Office of Science, accessed July 20, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Recipient of the Seaborg Medal. American Nuclear Society, accessed July 19, 2017 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hurwitz, Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American physicist
DATE OF BIRTH December 25, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH April 14, 1992
Place of death Schenectady