Louis B. Slichter

Louis Byrne Slichter (May 19, 1896 – March 25, 1978) was an American physicist and geophysicist who directed the Institute of Geophysics at UCLA.[1][2][3][4][5]

Slichter was notable for, among other things, earth tides research,[4] submarine detection,[4] development of three-component short-period seismographs,[4] studies of the earth temperature distribution,[4] and the invention of a number of important geophysical devices.[4] Slichter Foreland peninsula in Antarctica is named after him.[5][6] The Institute of Geophysics building in UCLA where he used to work as a director of the Institute has been named Slichter Hall.[1] He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the chair of the Academy's Geophysics Section.[2] He was also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,[2] a fellow of the American Physical Society,[2] and a fellow of the American Geophysical Union.[2] The New York Times called Slichter a "widely honored pioneer in the earth sciences".[1] The National Academy of Sciences called him "one of the foremost geophysicists of the twentieth century, an outstanding leader, scholar, and teacher".[2] UCLA called him "the world leader in the analysis of the solid earth tides".[4]

Family

Louis Slichter was the son of the mathematician Charles S. Slichter,[7] brother of economist Sumner Slichter,[8] and uncle of physicist Charles P. Slichter. His sister-in-law was the biochemist Mary Van Rensselaer Buell.[9]

Chronology

• May 19, 1896 born in Madison, Wisconsin
• 1917: BA, University of Wisconsin–Madison[2][3]
• 1920: AM, University of Wisconsin–Madison[2][3]
• 1922: PhD in physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison[2][3][5][7]
• 1932–1945: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor of Geophysics[2][3]
• 1944: elected to the National Academy of Sciences[2][3]
• 1945–1947: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Professor of Geophysics[2][3][7]
• 1946 Presidential Certificate of Merit (1946)[2][4]
• 1946 Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship[2][4]
• 1947 Director of the Institute of Geophysics, Professor of Geophysics, UCLA[1]
• 1959 an honorary life membership in the Society of Exploration Geophysicists[2]
• 1960 the Jackling Award of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers[2][4]
• 1960 the chair of Geophysics Section at the National Academy of Sciences[2]
• 1963-1978 Professor Emeritus, UCLA[2][3]
• 1966 Dedication of Slichter Hall at UCLA[4][5]
• 1967 Honorary D.Sc., University of Wisconsin[2][4][5][7]
• 1966 the William Bowie Medal of the American Geophysical Union[2][4]
• 1969 Honorary LL.D., UCLA[2][4][5]
• March 25, 1978 dies Los Angeles Medical Center at UCLA[7]

References

1. New York Times:Louis B. Slichter, 81, of U.C.L.A.; Headed Institute of Geophysics;widely honored pioneer in the earth sciences;March 28, 1978
2. National Academies Press:Biographical Memoirs V.85 (2004), LOUIS BYRNE SLICHTER; BY LEON KNOPOFF AND CHARLES P. SLICHTER
3. Array of Contemporary American Physicists:Louis Slichter
4. UCLA:Louis Byrne Slichter, Geophysics and Planetary Physics: Los Angeles;Professor of Geophysics, Emeritus;Director of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Emeritus
5. encyclopedia.com;SLICHTER, LOUIS BYRNE;(b. Madison, Wisconsin, 19 May 1896; d. Los Angeles, California, 25 March 1978);geophysics.
6. Slichter Foreland: Antarctica;SOURCE: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, MD, USA
7. "Ex-UW Prof. Louis Slichter Dies in California at 81". Wisconsin State Journal. March 28, 1978. p. 25. Retrieved January 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Four Slichters Honored". Wisconsin State Journal. May 4, 1957. p. 1. Retrieved January 11, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "This Social Whirl". The Capital Times. February 4, 1940. p. 13. Retrieved January 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Louis B. Slichter at Find a Grave