Burton Richter (22 March 1931 – 18 July 2018) was an American physicist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1976.
Life and Career
He was born on 22 March 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1952. He then went on to pursue a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, which he received in 1956.
During his time at Berkeley, Richter worked on the cyclotron, a particle accelerator that allowed for the production of high-energy particles for use in nuclear physics research. After completing his Ph.D., Richter went on to work at the Brookhaven National Laboratory and then at the University of Oxford as a research fellow.
He then joined the faculty of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) at Stanford University in 1956.
Burton Richter Quotes
Here are quotes of Shmuel Burton Richter:
Innovation and renewal are required to keep a laboratory on the frontiers of science.
In 1948 I entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, undecided between studies of chemistry and physics, but my first year convinced me that physics was more interesting to me.
Since stepping down as laboratory director in 1999, I have devoted an increasing fraction of my time to international issues. I am involved with energy, environment, and sustainability issues, particularly as they involve new energy sources free of greenhouse gases.
~ Burton Richter
Modern science is fast-moving, and no laboratory can exist for long with a program based on old facilities. Innovation and renewal are required to keep a laboratory on the frontiers of science.
~ Burton Richter
I was born on 22 March 1931 in New York, the elder child of Abraham and Fanny Richter.
While a lab Director can get done the things that he regards as important, he has the more important job of bringing out the best ideas of the broader scientific community.