Luis Alvarez
Biography
Luis W. Alvarez was born in San Francisco, Calif., on June 13, 1911.
He received his B.Sc. from the University of Chicago in 1932, a M.Sc.
in 1934, and his Ph.D. in 1936. Dr. Alvarez joined the Radiation Laboratory
of the University of California, where he is now a professor, as a research
fellow in 1936. He was on leave at the Radiation Laboratory of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology from 1940 to 1943, at the Metallurgical Laboratory
of the University of Chicago in 1943-1944, and at the Los Alamos Laboratory
of the Manhattan District from 1944 to 1945.
Early in his scientific career, Dr. Alvarez worked concurrently
in the fields of optics and cosmic rays. He is co-discoverer of
the "East-West effect" in cosmic rays. For several years he
concentrated his work in the field of nuclear physics. In 1937 he
gave the first experimental demonstration of the existence of the
phenomenon of K-electron capture by nuclei. Another early
development was a method for producing beams of very slow
neutrons. This method subsequently led to a fundamental
investigation of neutron scattering in ortho- and para-hydrogen,
with Pitzer, and to the first measurement, with Bloch, of the
magnetic moment of the neutron. With Wiens, he was responsible
for the production of the first 198Hg lamp; this
device was developed by the Bureau of Standards into its present
form as the universal standard of length. Just before the war,
Alvarez and Cornog discovered the radioactivity of 3H
(tritium) and showed that 3He was a stable constituent
of ordinary helium. (Tritium is best known as a source of
thermonuclear energy, and 3He has become of importance
in low temperature research.)
During the war (at M.I.T.) he was responsible for three important
radar systems - the microwave early warning system, the Eagle
high altitude bombing system, and a blind landing system of
civilian as well as military value (GCA, or Ground-Controlled
Approach). While at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Professor Alvarez
developed the detonators for setting off the plutonium bomb. He
flew as a scientific observer at both the Almagordo and Hiroshima
explosions.
Dr. Alvarez is responsible for the design and construction of the
Berkeley 40-foot proton linear accelerator, which was completed
in 1947. In 1951 he published the first suggestion for charge
exchange acceleration that quickly led to the development of the
"Tandem Van de Graaf accelerator". Since that time, he has
engaged in high-energy physics, using the 6 billion electron volt
Bevatron at the University of California Radiation Laboratory.
His main efforts have been concentrated on the development and
use of large liquid hydrogen bubble chambers, and on the
development of high-speed devices to measure and analyze the
millions of photographs produced each year by the bubble-chamber
complex. The net result of this work has been the discovery by
Dr. Alvarez' research group, of a large number of previously
unknown efundamental particle resonances.. Since 1967 Dr. Alvarez
has devoted most of this time to the study of cosmic rays, using
balloons and superconducting magnets.
Professor Alvarez is a member of the following societies:
National Academy of
Sciences, American Philosophical Society, American Physical
Society (President 1969), American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and National
Academy of Engineering. In 1946 he was awarded the Collier Trophy
by the National Aeronautical Association for the development of
Ground - Controlled Approach. In 1953 he was awarded the John
Scott Medaland Prize, by the city of Philadelphia, for the same
work. In 1947 he was awarded the Medal for Merit. In 1960 he was
named "California Scientist of the Year" for his research work on
high-energy physics. In 1961 he was awarded the Einstein Medal
for his contribution to the physical sciences. In 1963 he was
awarded the Pioneer Award of the AIEEE; in 1964 he was awarded
the National Medal of Science for contributions to high-energy
physics, and in 1965 he received the Michelson Award. He has
received the following honorary de grees: Sc.D., University of
Chicago, 1967; Sc.D., Carnegie-Mellon University, 1968; Sc.D., Kenyon College,
1969.
From Nobel Lectures, Physics 1963-1970, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1972
This autobiography/biography was first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.
For more updated biographical information, see:
Alvarez, Luis W., Adventures of a Physicist. Basic Books, New York, 1987.
Luis Alvarez died on September 1, 1988.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1968