William Alfred Fowler
Wiley Book of Astronomy:
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William “Willy” Alfred Fowler
(1911–1995)
An American astrophysicist who studied the nuclear reactions believed to occur in stellar interiors. In 1938, he showed that the proton-proton chain, proposed by Hans Bethe, was a viable means of producing energy in stars. In 1957, he coauthored, with Margaret and Geoffrey Burbidge and Fred Hoyle, a famous paper (referred to as B2FH) titled “Synthesis of the Elements in Stars,” which showed how the cosmic abundances of essentially all but the lightest nuclides could be explained as the result of stellar nucleosynthesis. Together with colleagues at the California Institute of Technology's Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, Fowler measured the rates of numerous nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest. He earned his B.S. in engineering physics at Ohio State University and his Ph.D. in nuclear physics at the California Institute of Technology, where he remained for the rest of his life, aside from frequent visits to the University of Cambridge.
An American astrophysicist who studied the nuclear reactions believed to occur in stellar interiors. In 1938, he showed that the proton-proton chain, proposed by Hans Bethe, was a viable means of producing energy in stars. In 1957, he coauthored, with Margaret and Geoffrey Burbidge and Fred Hoyle, a famous paper (referred to as B2FH) titled “Synthesis of the Elements in Stars,” which showed how the cosmic abundances of essentially all but the lightest nuclides could be explained as the result of stellar nucleosynthesis. Together with colleagues at the California Institute of Technology's Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, Fowler measured the rates of numerous nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest. He earned his B.S. in engineering physics at Ohio State University and his Ph.D. in nuclear physics at the California Institute of Technology, where he remained for the rest of his life, aside from frequent visits to the University of Cambridge.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
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William Alfred Fowler
(born Aug. 9, 1911, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.died March 14, 1995, Pasadena, Calif.) U.S. nuclear astrophysicist. He received his Ph.D. from Caltech and became a professor there in 1939. His theory of element generation (nucleosynthesis) suggests that, as stars evolve, chemical elements are synthesized progressively (light to heavy) by means of nuclear fusion that also produces light and heat and that the heaviest elements are synthesized in supernovas. For his theory he shared a 1983 Nobel Prize with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. He is also known for his work in radio astronomy with Fred Hoyle.
For more information on William Alfred Fowler, visit Britannica.com.
Oxford Dictionary of Scientists:
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William Alfred Fowler
American physicist (1911–1995)
Fowler was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, graduated in 1933 from Ohio State University, and obtained his PhD in 1936 from the California Institute of Technology. He was immediately appointed to the staff, serving as professor of physics there from 1946 to 1970; he was Institute Professor from 1970 and professor emeritus from 1982.
Fowler worked mainly in nuclear physics, especially on the nuclear reactions that occur in stars and by which energy is produced and the elements synthesized, on nuclear forces, and on nuclear spectroscopy. In 1957 Margaret and Geoffrey Burbidge, Fred Hoyle, and Fowler published a key paper dealing with the problem of the creation of the chemical elements in the interiors of stars. They were aware that the hot big bang proposed by George Gamow could produce nothing heavier than helium. Clearly the elements were produced later. They therefore had to identify nuclear reactions that could occur at the immense temperatures of stellar cores; the type of process changed, and hence changed the elements being produced, as the temperature increased and conditions altered inside the stars. A later and fuller version was published by Fowler and Hoyle in their Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars and Supernovae (1965).
Fowler subsequently worked on such fundamental questions as the amount of helium and deuterium in the universe, the answers to such questions having profound implications for knowledge of the age and future development of the universe.
For his work on nuclear astrophysics, Fowler shared the 1983 Nobel Prize for physics with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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William Alfred Fowler
Fowler, William Alfred, 1911-95, American nuclear astrophysicist, b. Pittsburgh. While a professor at the California Institute of Technology, Fowler studied how chemical elements are formed in nuclear reactions, especially in the evolution of stars. For his work in this area he shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Fowler also studied the radio emissions of quasars and the functioning of subatomic particles such as neutrinos.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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William Alfred Fowler
For other people named William Fowler, see William Fowler (disambiguation).
| Willie Fowler | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | August 9, 1911 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 14, 1995 (aged 83) Pasadena, California |
| Doctoral advisor | Charles Christian Lauritsen |
| Doctoral students | George Fuller, Donald Clayton, F. Curtis Michel |
| Influences | Fred Hoyle |
| Notable awards | Nobel Prize for Physics (1983) |
William Alfred "Willy" Fowler (August 9, 1911 – March 14, 1995) was an American astrophysicist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983. He should not be confused with the British astronomer Alfred Fowler.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Fowler moved with his family to Lima, Ohio at the age of two. He graduated from the Ohio State University, where he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and went on to receive a Ph.D. in nuclear physics at the California Institute of Technology. His seminal paper Synthesis of the Elements in Stars (Reviews of Modern Physics, vol. 29, Issue 4, pp. 547–650), coauthored with E. Margaret Burbidge, Geoffrey Burbidge, and Fred Hoyle, was published in 1957. The paper explained how the abundances of essentially all but the lightest chemical elements could be explained by the process of nucleosynthesis in stars. It is widely known as B²FH.
Fowler succeeded Charles Lauritsen as director of the Kellogg Radiation Laboratory at Caltech, and was himself later succeeded by Steven E. Koonin.
Fowler won the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society in 1963, the Vetlesen Prize in 1973, the Eddington Medal in 1978, the Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1979, and the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983 for his theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe (shared with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar). A lifelong fan of steam locomotives, he owned several working models of various sizes. He died in Pasadena, California.
Publications
- Burbidge, G., Burbidge, E. M., Fowler, W. A., and Hoyle, F., "Synthesis of the Elements in Stars," Reviews of Modern Physics, 29(4), 547-650, 1957.
- Fowler, W. A., "Temperature and Density Conditions for Nucleogenesis by Fusion Processes in Stars", W. K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission, (June 1958).
- Seeger, P. A.& W. A. Fowler. "Integrated Flux Distributions in Neutron Capture in Stars", Los Alamos National Laboratory (through predecessor the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory), California Institute of Technology, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (September 23, 1965).
- Colgate, S. A., Audouze, J. & W. A. Fowler. "Helium (3) Rich Solar Flares", Los Alamos National Laboratory (through predecessor the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory), United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Energy Research and Development Administration), (May 3, 1977).
External links
- Biography and Bibliographic Resources, from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, United States Department of Energy
- W.A. Fowler: Radioactive elements of a low atomic number, Ph.D. dissertation
- A Brief Autobiography of W.A. Fowler
- Bruce Medal page
- Guide to the Papers of William A. Fowler, 1917-1994
- Caughlan and Fowler 1988: THERMONUCLEAR REACTION RATES, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Interview with William A. Fowler, Caltech Archives Oral Histories Online
Obituaries
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