Richard Tousey
Richard Tousey (born May 18, 1908 in Somerville , Massachusetts , † April 15, 1997 in Cheverly , Maryland ) was an American physicist and astronomer .
He studied at Harvard University , where he also obtained his doctorate under Theodore Lyman in 1933 , and worked and taught at Harvard and Tufts University . In 1941 he went to the Naval Research Laboratory and did optical research with military applications. In 1955 he became a Fellow of the American Physical Society , in 1960 a member of the National Academy of Sciences , and in 1966 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .
Tousey was one of the pioneers in the use of rockets for astronomical research. After the Second World War, he took part in research with captured V2 rockets and discovered, among other things, the Lyman series in the ultraviolet spectrum of the sun. He later continued his studies of the sun and the earth's atmosphere with smaller American-made rockets. At the same time, he and his colleagues investigated the ultraviolet properties of optical materials. Later, his group operated coronographs on rockets and satellites and two experiments on Skylab . After 37 years at the Naval Research Laboratory, Tousey retired in 1978.
Honors
- 1963 Henry Draper Medal
- 1964 Eddington Medal
- 1966 Henry Norris Russell Lectureship
literature
Obituary in: Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society 29, 1494 (1997) ( online )
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Tousey, Richard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American physicist and astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 18, 1908 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Somerville , Massachusetts , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 15, 1997 |
| Place of death | Cheverly , Maryland , United States |