List some famous physicist and their contribution?

Answer 1

Famous Physicists

Classical PeriodWilliam Gilbert1544-1603
Englishhypothesized that the Earth is a giant magnetGalileo Galilei1564-1642
Italianperformed fundamental observations, experiments, and mathematical analyses in astronomy and physics; discovered mountains and craters on the moon, the phases of Venus, and the four largest satellites of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Callisto, and GanymedeWillebrod Snell1580-1626
Dutchdiscovered law of refraction (Snell's law)Blaise Pascal1623-1662
Frenchdiscovered that pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted undiminished to every part of the fluid and to the walls of its container (Pascal's principle)Christiaan Huygens1629-1695
Dutchproposed a simple geometrical wave theory of light, now known as ``Huygen's principle''; pioneered use of the pendulum in clocksRobert Hooke1635-1703
Englishdiscovered Hooke's law of elasticitySir Isaac Newton1643-1727
Englishdeveloped theories of gravitation and mechanics, and invented differential calculusDaniel Bernoulli1700-1782
Swissdeveloped the fundamental relationship of fluid flow now known as Bernoulli's principleBenjamin Franklin1706-1790
Americanthe first American physicist; characterized two kinds of electric charge, which he named ``positive'' and ``negative''Leonard Euler1707-1783
Swissmade fundamental contributions to fluid dynamics, lunar orbit theory (tides), and mechanics; also contributed prolifically to all areas of classical mathematicsHenry Cavendish1731-1810
Britishdiscovered and studied hydrogen; first to measure Newton's gravitational constant; calculated mass and mean density of EarthCharles Augustin de Coulomb1736-1806
Frenchexperiments on elasticity, electricity, and magnetism; established experimentally nature of the force between two chargesJoseph-Louis Lagrange1736-1813
Frenchdeveloped new methods of analytical mechanicsJames Watt1736-1819
Scottishinvented the modern condensing steam engine and a centrifugal governorCount Alessandro Volta1745-1827
Italianpioneer in study of electricity; invented the first electric batteryJoseph Fourier1768-1830
Frenchestablished the differential equation governing heat diffusion and solved it by devising an infinite series of sines and cosines capable of approximating a wide variety of functionsThomas Young1773-1829
Britishstudied light and color; known for his double-slit experiment that demonstrated the wave nature of lightJean-Babtiste Biot1774-1862
Frenchstudied polarization of light; co-discovered that intensity of magnetic field set up by a current flowing through a wire varies inversely with the distance from the wireAndré Marie Ampère1775-1836
Frenchfather of electrodynamicsAmadeo Avogadro1776-1856
Italiandeveloped hypothesis that all gases at same volume, pressure, and temperature contain same number of atomsJohann Carl Friedrich Gauss1777-1855
Germanformulated separate electrostatic and electrodynamical laws, including ``Gauss' law''; contributed to development of number theory, differential geometry, potential theory, theory of terrestrial magnetism, and methods of calculating planetary orbitsHans Christian Oersted1777-1851
Danishdiscovered that a current in a wire can produce magnetic effectsSir David Brewster1781-1868
Englishdeduced ``Brewster's law'' giving the angle of incidence that produces reflected light which is completely polarized; invented the kaleidoscope and the stereoscope, and improved the spectroscopeAugustin-Jean Fresnel1788-1827
Frenchstudied transverse nature of light wavesGeorg Ohm1789-1854
Germandiscovered that current flow is proportional to potential difference and inversely proportional to resistance (Ohm's law)Michael Faraday1791-1867
Englishdiscovered electromagnetic induction and devised first electrical transformerFelix Savart1791-1841
Frenchco-discovered that intensity of magnetic field set up by a current flowing through a wire varies inversely with the distance from the wireSadi Carnot1796-1832
Frenchfounded the science of thermodynamicsJoseph Henry1797-1878
Americanperformed extensive fundamental studies of electromagnetic phenomena; devised first practical electric motorChristian Doppler1803-1853
Austrianexperimented with sound waves; derived an expression for the apparent change in wavelength of a wave due to relative motion between the source and observerWilhelm E. Weber1804-1891
Germandeveloped sensitive magnetometers; worked in electrodynamics and the electrical structure of matterSir William Hamilton1805-1865
Irishdeveloped the principle of least action and the Hamiltonian form of classical mechanicsJames Prescott Joule1818-1889
Britishdiscovered mechanical equivalent of heatArmand-Hippolyte-Louis Fizeau1819-1896
Frenchmade the first terrestrial measurement of the speed of light; invented one of the first interferometers; took the first pictures of the Sun on daguerreotypes; argued that the Doppler effect with respect to sound should also apply to any wave motion, particularly that of lightJean-Bernard-Léon Foucault1819-1868
Frenchaccurately measured speed of light; invented the gyroscope; demonstrated the Earth's rotationSir George Gabriel Stokes1819-1903
Britishdescribed the motion of viscous fluids by independently discovering the Navier-Stokes equations of fluid mechanics (or hydrodynamics); developed Stokes theorem by which certain surface integrals may be reduced to line integrals; discovered fluorescenceHermann von Helmholtz1821-1894
Germandeveloped first law of thermodynamics, a statement of conservation of energyRudolf Clausius1822-1888
Germandeveloped second law of thermodynamics, a statement that the entropy of the Universe always increasesLord Kelvin
(born William Thomson)1824-1907
Britishproposed absolute temperature scale, of essence to development of thermodynamicsGustav Kirchhoff1824-1887
Germandeveloped three laws of spectral analysis and three rules of electric circuit analysis; also contributed to opticsJohann Balmer1825-1898
Swissdeveloped empirical formula to describe hydrogen spectrumSir Joseph Wilson Swan1828-1914
Britishdeveloped a carbon-filament incandescent light; patented the carbon process for printing photographs in permanent pigmentJames Clerk Maxwell1831-1879
Scottishpropounded the theory of electromagnetism; developed the kinetic theory of gasesJosef Stefan1835-1893
Austrianstudied blackbody radiationErnst Mach1838-1916
Austrianstudied conditions that occur when an object moves through a fluid at high speed (the ``Mach number'' gives the ratio of the speed of the object to the speed of sound in the fluid); proposed ``Mach's principle,'' which states that the inertia of an object is due to the interaction between the object and the rest of the universeJosiah Gibbs1839-1903
Americandeveloped chemical thermodynamics; introduced concepts of free energy and chemical potentialJames Dewar1842-1923
Britishliquified nitrogen and invented the Dewar flask, which is critical for low-temperature workOsborne Reynolds1842-1912
Britishcontributed to the fields of hydraulics and hydrodynamics; developed mathematical framework for turbulence and introduced the ``Reynolds number,'' which provides a criterion for dynamic similarity and correct modeling in many fluid-flow experimentsLudwig Boltzmann1844-1906
Austriandeveloped statistical mechanics and applied it to kinetic theory of gasesRoland Eötvös1848-1919
Hungariandemonstrated equivalence of gravitational and inertial massOliver Heaviside1850-1925
Englishcontributed to the development of electromagnetism; introduced operational calculus and invented the modern notation for vector calculus; predicted existence of the Heaviside layer (a layer of the Earth's ionosphere)George Francis FitzGerald1851-1901
Irishhypothesized foreshortening of moving bodies (Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction) to explain the result of the Michelson-Morley experimentJohn Henry Poynting1852-1914
Britishdemonstrated that the energy flow of electromagnetic waves could be calculated by an equation (now called Poynting's vector)Henri Poincaré1854-1912
Frenchfounded qualitative dynamics (the mathematical theory of dynamical systems); created topology; contributed to solution of the three-body problem; first described many properties of deterministic chaos; contributed to the development of special relativityJanne Rydberg1854-1919
Swedishanalyzed the spectra of many elements; discovered many line series were described by a formula that depended on a universal constant (the Rydberg constant)Edwin H. Hall1855-1938
Americandiscovered the ``Hall effect,'' which occurs when charge carriers moving through a material are deflected because of an applied magnetic field - the deflection results in a potential difference across the side of the material that is transverse to both the magnetic field and the current directionHeinrich Hertz1857-1894
Germanworked on electromagnetic phenomena; discovered radio waves and the photoelectric effectNikola Tesla1857-1943
Serbian-born Americancreated alternating currentNobel LaureatesJohannes van der Waals1837-1923
Dutchworked on equations of state for gases and liquidsLord Rayleigh
(born John William Strutt)1842-1919
Britishdiscovered argon; explained how light scattering is responsible for red color of sunset and blue color of skyWilhelm Röntgen1845-1923
Germandiscovered and studied x raysAntoine Henri Becquerel1852-1908
Frenchdiscovered natural radioactivityAlbert A. Michelson1852-1931
German-born Americandevised an interferometer and used it to try to measure Earth's absolute motion; precisely measured speed of lightHendrik Antoon Lorentz1853-1928
Dutchintroduced Lorentz transformation equations of special relativity; advanced ideas of relativistic length contraction and relativistic mass increase; contributed to theory of electromagnetismHeike Kamerlingh-Onnes1853-1926
Dutchliquified helium; discovered superconductivitySir Joseph John Thomson1856-1940
Britishdemonstrated existence of the electronMax Planck1858-1947
Germanformulated the quantum theory; explained wavelength distribution of blackbody radiationPierre Curie1859-1906
Frenchstudied radioactivity with wife, Marie Curie; discovered piezoelectricitySir William Henry Bragg1862-1942
Britishworked on x-ray spectrometryPhilipp von Lenard1862-1947
Germanstudied cathode rays and the photoelectric effectWilhelm Wien1864-1928
Germandiscovered laws governing radiation of heatPieter Zeeman1865-1943
Dutchdiscovered splitting of spectral lines in a strong magnetic fieldMarie Curie1867-1934
Polish-born Frenchdiscovered radioactivity of thorium; co-discovered radium and poloniumRobert Millikan1868-1953
Americanmeasured the charge of an electron; introduced term ``cosmic rays'' for the radiation coming from outer space; studied the photoelectric effectCharles Wilson1869-1959
Britishinvented the cloud chamberJean Baptiste Perrin1870-1942
Frenchexperimentally proved that cathode rays were streams of negatively charged particles; experimentally confirmed the correctness of Einstein's theory of Brownian motion, and through his measurements obtained a new determination of Avogadro's numberLord Ernest Rutherford1871-1937
New Zealandertheorized existence of the atomic nucleus based on results of the alpha-scattering experiment performed by Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden; developed theory of Rutherford scattering (scattering of spinless, pointlike particles from a Coulomb potential)Guglielmo Marconi1874-1937
Italianinvented the first practical system of wireless telegraphyJohannes Stark1874-1957
Germandiscovered splitting of spectral lines in a strong electric fieldCharles Glover Barkla1877-1944
Britishdiscovered that every chemical element, when irradiated by x rays, can emit an x-ray spectrum of two line-groups, which he named the K-series and L-series, that are of fundamental importance to understanding atomic structureAlbert Einstein1879-1955
German-born Americanexplained Brownian motion and photoelectric effect; contributed to theory of atomic spectra; formulated theories of special and general relativityOtto Hahn1879-1968
Germandiscovered the fission of heavy nucleiMax von Laue1879-1960
Germandiscovered diffraction of x rays by crystalsSir Owen Richardson1879-1959
Britishdiscovered the basic law of thermionic emission, now called the Richardson (or Richardson-Dushman) equation, which describes the emission of electrons from a heated conductorClinton Joseph Davisson1881-1958
Americanco-discovered electron diffractionMax Born1882-1970
German-born Britishcontributed to creation of quantum mechanics; pioneer in the theory of crystalsPercy Williams Bridgman1882-1961
Americaninvented an apparatus to produce extremely high pressures; made many discoveries in high-pressure physicsJames Franck1882-1964
Germanexperimentally confirmed that atomic energy states are quantizedVictor Franz Hess1883-1964
Austriandiscovered cosmic radiationPeter Debye1884-1966
Dutch-born Germanused methods of statistical mechanics to calculate equilibrium properties of solids; contributed to knowledge of molecular structureNiels Bohr1885-1962
Danishcontributed to quantum theory and to theory of nuclear reactions and nuclear fissionKarl Manne Georg Siegbahn1886-1978
Swedishmade important experimental contributions to the field of x-ray spectroscopyGustav Hertz1887-1975
Germanexperimentally confirmed that atomic energy states are quantizedErwin Schrödinger1887-1961
Austriancontributed to creation of quantum mechanics; formulated the Schrödinger wave equationSir Chandrasekhara Raman1888-1970
Indianstudied light scattering and discovered the Raman effectOtto Stern1888-1969
German-born Americancontributed to development of the molecular beam method; discovered the magnetic moment of the protonFrits Zernike1888-1966
Dutchinvented the phase-contrast microscope, a type of microscope widely used for examining specimens such as biological cells and tissuesSir William Lawrence Bragg1890-1971
Britishworked on crystal structure and x raysWalther Bothe1891-1957
Germandevised a coincidence counter for studying cosmic rays; demonstrated validity of energy-momentum conservation at the atomic scaleSir James Chadwick1891-1974
Britishdiscovered the neutronSir Edward Appleton1892-1965
Englishdiscovered the layer of the Earth's atmosphere, called the Appleton layer, which is the part of the ionosphere having the highest concentration of free electrons and is the most useful for radio transmissionPrince Louis-Victor de Broglie1892-1987
Frenchpredicted wave properties of the electronArthur Compton1892-1962
Americandiscovered the increase in wavelength of x rays when scattered by an electronSir George Paget Thomson1892-1975
Britishco-discovered electron diffractionHarold Clayton Urey1893-1981
Americandiscovered deuteriumPjotr Leonidovich Kapitsa1894-1984
Sovietheralded a new era of low-temperature physics by inventing a device for producing liquid helium without previous cooling with liquid hydrogen; demonstrated that Helium II is a quantum superfluidIgor Y. Tamm1895-1971
Sovietco-developed the theoretical interpretation of the radiation of electrons moving through matter faster than the speed of light (the ``Cerenkov effect''), and developed the theory of showers in cosmic raysRobert S. Mulliken1896-1986
Americanintroduced the theoretical concept of the molecular orbital, which led to a new understanding of the chemical bond and the electronic structure of moleculesLord Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett1897-1974
Britishdeveloped an automatic Wilson cloud chamber; discovered electron-positron pair production in cosmic raysSir John Cockcroft1897-1967
Britishco-invented the first particle acceleratorIrène Joliot-Curie1897-1956
Frenchco-discovered artificial radioactivityIsador Isaac Rabi1898-1988
Austrian-born Americandeveloped the resonance technique for measuring the magnetic properties of atomic nucleiFrédéric Joliot-Curie1900-1958
Frenchco-discovered artificial radioactivityDennis Gabor1900-1979
Hungarianinvented and developed the holographic method whereby it is possible to record and display a three-dimensional display of an objectWolfgang Pauli1900-1958
Austrian-born Americandiscovered the exclusion principle; suggested the existence of the neutrinoEnrico Fermi1901-1954
Italian-born Americanperformed experiments leading to first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction; developed a theory of beta decay that introduced the weak interaction; derived the statistical properties of gases that obey the Pauli exclusion principleWerner Heisenberg1901-1976
Germancontributed to creation of quantum mechanics; introduced the ``uncertainty principle'' and the concept of exchange forcesErnest Orlando Lawrence1901-1958
Americaninvented the cyclotronPaul Adrien Maurice Dirac1902-1984
Britishhelped found quantum electrodynamics; predicted the existence of antimatter by combining quantum mechanics with special relativityAlfred Kastler1902-1984
Frenchdiscovered and developed optical methods for studying the Hertzian resonances that are produced when atoms interact with radio waves or microwavesEugene Wigner1902-1995
Hungarian-born Americancontributed to theoretical atomic and nuclear physics; introduced concept of the nuclear cross sectionCecil F. Powell1903-1969
Britishdeveloped the photographic emulsion method of studying nuclear processes; discovered the charged pionErnest Walton1903-1995
Irishco-invented the first particle acceleratorPavel A. Cherenkov1904-1990
Sovietdiscovered the ``Cerenkov effect'' whereby light is emitted by a particle passing through a medium at a speed greater than that of light in the mediumCarl David Anderson1905-1991
Americandiscovered the positron and the muonFelix Bloch1905-1983
Swiss-born Americancontributed to development of the NMR technique; measured the magnetic moment of the neutron; contributed to the theory of metalsSir Nevill F. Mott1905-1996
Britishcontributed to theoretical condensed-matter physics by applying quantum theory to complex phenomena in solids; calculated cross section for relativistic Coulomb scatteringEmilio Segrè1905-1989
Italian-born Americanco-discovered the antiproton; discovered technetiumHans Bethe1906-2005
German-born Americancontributed to theoretical nuclear physics, especially concerning the mechanism for energy production in starsMaria Goeppert-Mayer1906-1972
German-born Americanadvanced shell model of nuclear structureErnst Ruska1906-1988
Germandesigned the first electron microscopeShin-Ichiro Tomonaga1906-1979
Japaneseco-developed quantum electrodynamicsJ. Hans D. Jensen1907-1973
Germanadvanced shell model of nuclear structureEdwin M. McMillan1907-1991
Americanmade discoveries concerning the transuranium elementsHideki Yukawa1907-1981
Japanesepredicted existence of the pionJohn Bardeen1908-1991
Americanco-discovered the transistor effect; developed theory of superconductivityIl'ja M. Frank1908-1990
Sovietco-developed the theoretical interpretation of the radiation of electrons moving through matter faster than the speed of light (the ``Cerenkov effect''), and carried out experimental investigations of pair creation by gamma raysLev Landau1908-1968
Sovietcontributed to condensed matter theory on phenomena of superfluidity and superconductivitySubramanyan Chandrasekhar1910-1995
Indian-born Americanmade important theoretical contributions concerning the structure and evolution of stars, especially white dwarfsWilliam Shockley1910-1989
Americanco-discovered the transistor effectLuis Walter Alvarez1911-1988
Americanconstructed huge bubble chambers and discovered many short-lived hadrons; advanced the impact theory for the extinction of the dinosaursWilliam Fowler1911-1995
Americanstudied nuclear reactions of astrophysical significance; developed, with others, a theory of the formation of chemical elements in the universePolykarp Kusch1911-1993
Americanexperimentally established that the electron has an anomalous magnetic moment and made a precision determination of its magnitudeEdward Mills Purcell1912-1997
Americandeveloped method of nuclear resonance absorption that permitted the absolute determination of nuclear magnetic moments; co-discovered a line in the galactic radiospectrum caused by atomic hydrogenGlenn T. Seaborg1912-1999
Americanco-discovered plutonium and all further transuranium elements through element 102Willis E. Lamb, Jr.1913-2008
Americanmade discoveries concerning fine structure of hydrogenRobert Hofstadter1915-1990
Americanmeasured charge distributions in atomic nuclei with high-energy electron scattering; measured the charge and magnetic-moment distributions in the proton and neutronNorman F. Ramsey, Jr.1915-2011
Americandeveloped the separated oscillatory fields method, which is the basis of the cesium atomic clock (our present time standard); co-invented the hydrogen maserClifford G. Shull1915-2001
Americandeveloped a neutron scattering technique in which a neutron diffraction pattern is produced that may be used to determine the atomic structure of a materialCharles H. Townes1915-
Americancreated first maser using ammonia to produce coherent microwave radiationFrancis Crick1916-2004
Englishco-proposed the double-helix structure of DNAMaurice Wilkins1916-2004
Britishinvestigated the structure of DNABertram N. Brockhouse1918-2003
Canadiandeveloped the technique of neutron spectroscopy for studies of condensed matterRichard P. Feynman1918-1988
Americanco-developed quantum electrodynamics; created a new formalism for practical calculations by introducing a graphical method called Feynman diagramsFrederick Reines1918-1998
Americanestablished, together with Clyde L. Cowan, Jr., the existence of the electron antineutrino by detecting them using a reactor experimentJulian Schwinger1918-1994
Americanco-developed quantum electrodynamicsKai M. Siegbahn1918-2007
Swedishcontributed to the development of high-resolution electron spectroscopyNicolaas Bloembergen1920-
Dutch-born Americancontributed to the development of laser spectroscopyOwen Chamberlain1920-2006
Americanco-discovered the antiprotonYoichiro Nambu1921-
Japanese-born Americancontributed to elementary particle theory; recognized the role played by spontaneous symmetry-breaking in analogy with superconductivity theory; formulated QCD (quantum chromodynamics), the gauge theory of colorAndrei Sakharov1921-1989
Russianfather of the Soviet hydrogen bomb; awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle for human rights, for disarmament, and for cooperation between all nationsArthur L. Schawlow1921-1999
Americancontributed to the development of laser spectroscopyJack Steinberger1921-
German-born Americanmade many important discoveries in particle physics; co-discovered the neutral pion via photoproduction; co-discovered the muon neutrinoNikolai Basov1922-2001
Sovietworked in quantum electronics; independently worked out theoretical basis of the maserAage Bohr1922-2009
Danishcontributed to theoretical understanding of collective motion in nucleiLeon Lederman1922-
Americancontributed to the discovery of the muon neutrino and the bottom quarkChen Ning Yang1922-
Chinese-born Americanco-proposed parity violation in weak interactionsVal Logsdon Fitch1923-
Americanco-discovered that decays of neutral kaons sometime violate CP conservationJack S. Kilby1923-2005
Americaninvented the monolithic integrated circuit - the microchip - which laid the foundation for the field of microelectronics; co-invented the hand held calculatorWillard S. Boyle1924-2011
Canadianco-invented the CCD (charge-coupled device)Georges Charpak1924-2010
Frenchinvented the multiwire proportional chamberRoy J. Glauber1925-
Americanmade important contributions to the theoretical understanding of quantum optics and high-energy collisionsSimon van der Meer1925-2011
Dutchcontributed to experiments that led to the discovery of the carriers (W± and Z°) of the weak interactionDonald A. Glaser1926-
Americaninvented the bubble chamberHenry W. Kendall1926-1999
Americanco-discovered, through investigations of deep-inelastic electron scattering, clear signs that there exists an inner structure (quarks and gluons) in the protons and neutrons of the atomic nucleusBen Mottelson1926-
Americancontributed to theoretical understanding of collective motion in nucleiTsung-Dao Lee1926-
Chinese-born Americanco-proposed parity violation in weak interactionsAbdus Salam1926-1996
Pakistanico-developed gauge field theory of the electroweak interaction; suggested that the proton might be unstableK. Alexander Müller1927-
Swissco-discovered the first ceramic superconductorsMartin L. Perl1927-
Americandiscovered the tau leptonMurray Gell-Mann1929-
Americanadvanced an explanation of strange particles; predicted the existence of the Omega- particle; postulated existence of quarks; founded the study of QCDRudolf Ludwig Mössbauer1929-
Germanexperimented with resonance absorption of gamma radiation; discovered ``Mössbauer effect,'' the recoilless emission of gamma rays by nucleiRichard E. Taylor1929-
Canadianco-discovered, through investigations of deep-inelastic electron scattering, clear signs that there exists an inner structure (quarks and gluons) in the protons and neutrons of the atomic nucleusLeon Cooper1930-
Americancontributed to condensed matter theory on phenomena of superconductivityJerome I. Friedman1930-
Americanco-discovered, through investigations of deep-inelastic electron scattering, clear signs that there exists an inner structure (quarks and gluons) in the protons and neutrons of the atomic nucleusGeorge E. Smith1930-
Americanco-invented the CCD (charge-coupled device)James W. Cronin1931-
Americanco-discovered that decays of neutral kaons sometime violate CP conservationDavid M. Lee1931-
Americanco-discovered that the isotope Helium-3 becomes a quantum superfluid near absolute zeroBurton Richter1931-
Americancarried out an experiment leading to the discovery of charmoniumJ. Robert Schrieffer1931-
Americancontributed to condensed matter theory on phenomena of superconductivityPierre-Gilles de Gennes1932-2007
Frenchdeveloped theories in condensed matter physics applicable to liquid crystals and polymersSheldon Glashow1932-
Americanco-developed gauge field theory of the electroweak interactionMelvin Schwartz1932-2006
Americanproposed that it should be possible to produce and use a beam of neutrinos; co-discovered the muon neutrinoClaude Cohen-Tannoudji1933-
Frenchdeveloped methods, with his colleagues, of using laser light to cool helium atoms to a temperature of about 0.18 µK and capturing the chilled atoms in a trapCharles K. Kao1933-
Chinese-born British-Americanpioneer in the development and use of fiber optics in telecommunicationsArno A. Penzias1933-
German-born Americanco-discovered the cosmic microwave background radiationHeinrich Rohrer1933-
Swissco-designed the scanning tunneling microscope (STM), a type of microscope in which a fine conducting probe is held close the surface of a sampleSteven Weinberg1933-
Americanco-developed gauge field theory of the electroweak interactionCarlo Rubbia1934-
Italiancontributed to experiments that led to the discovery of the carriers (W± and Z°) of the weak interactionRobert W. Wilson1936-
Americanco-discovered the cosmic microwave background radiationSamuel C. C. Ting1936-
Americancarried out an experiment leading to the discovery of charmoniumKenneth Wilson1936-
Americaninvented renormalization group methods to develop a theory for critical phenomena in connection with phase transitions; contributed to solving QCD using lattice gauge theoryRobert C. Richardson1937-
Americanco-discovered that the isotope Helium-3 becomes a quantum superfluid near absolute zeroAlbert Fert1938-
Frenchco-discovered Giant Magnetoresistance, which brought about a breakthrough in gigabyte hard disksPeter Grünberg1939-
Germanco-discovered Giant Magnetoresistance, which brought about a breakthrough in gigabyte hard disksBrian Josephson1940-
Britishcontributed to theoretical predictions of the properties of a supercurrent through a tunnel barrierToshihide Maskawa1940-
Japanesecontributed to theoretical understanding of CP-violation; co-discovered the origin of the broken symmetry that predicts the existence of at least three families of quarksDavid J. Gross1941-
Americanco-discovered ``asymptotic freedom'' in non-Abelian gauge theories; contributed to the development of string theoryKlaus von Klitzing1943-
Germandiscovered the quantized Hall effectMakato Kobayashi1944-
Japanesecontributed to theoretical understanding of CP-violation; co-discovered the origin of the broken symmetry that predicts the existence of at least three families of quarksDouglas D. Osheroff1945-
Americanco-discovered that the isotope Helium-3 becomes a quantum superfluid near absolute zeroGerard t' Hooft1946-
Dutchcontributed to theoretical understanding of gauge theories in elementary particle physics, quantum gravity and black holes, and fundamental aspects of quantum physicsGerd Binnig1947-
Germanco-designed the scanning tunneling microscope (STM), a type of microscope in which a fine conducting probe is held close the surface of a sampleSteven Chu1948-
Americandeveloped the Doppler cooling method of using laser light (optical molasses) to cool gases and capturing the chilled atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT)William D. Phillips1948-
Americandeveloped, with his colleagues, a device called a Zeeman slower, with which he could slow down and capture atoms in a purely magnetic trapH. David Politzer1949-
Americanco-discovered ``asymptotic freedom'' in non-Abelian gauge theories; co-predicted the existence of charmonium - the bound state of a charm quark and its antiparticleJ. Georg Bednorz1950-
Germanco-discovered the first ceramic superconductorsRobert Laughlin1950-
Americandeveloped a theory of quantum fluids that explained the fractional quantum Hall effectFrank Wilczek1951-
Americanco-discovered ``asymptotic freedom'' in non-Abelian gauge theories; contributed to the study of ``anyons'' (particle-like excitations in two-dimensional systems that obey ``fractional statistics'')Andre Geim1958-
Dutch-Russianco-discovered a simple method for isolating single atomic layers of graphite, known as grapheneKonstantin Novoselov1974-
Russian-Britishco-discovered a simple method for isolating single atomic layers of graphite, known as grapheneOthersWallace Clement Sabine1868-1919
Americanfounded the science of architectural acousticsArnold Sommerfeld1868-1951
Germangeneralized the circular orbits of the atomic Bohr model to elliptical orbits; introduced the magnetic quantum number; used statistical mechanics to explain the electronic properties of metalsLise Meitner1878-1968
Austrian-born Swedishco-discovered the element protactinium and studied the effects of neutron bombardment on uranium; introduced term ``fission'' for splitting the atomic nucleusPaul Ehrenfest1880-1933
Austrianapplied quantum mechanics to rotating bodies; helped develop the modern statistical theory of nonequilibrium thermodynamicsTheodor von Kármán1881-1963
Hungarian-born Americanprovided major contributions to our understanding of fluid mechanics, turbulence theory, and supersonic flightWalther Meissner1882-1974
Germanco-discovered the ``Meissner effect'', whereby a superconductor expells a magnetic fieldHans Geiger1883-1945
Germanhelped measure charge-to-mass ratio for alpha particles; invented Geiger counter for detecting ionizing particlesHermann Weyl1885-1955
Germanattempted to incorporate electromagnetism into general relativity; evolved the concept of continuous groups using matrix representations and applied group theory to quantum mechanicsArthur Jeffrey Dempster1886-1950
Canadian-born Americandiscovered the isotope uranium-235Henry Moseley1887-1915
Britishdeveloped the modern form of the period table of elements based on their atomic numbersSir Robert Watson-Watt1892-1973
Scottishdeveloped radarSatyendra Bose1894-1974
Indianworked out statistical method of handling bosons (a group of particles named in his honor)