Background
Kusch, Polykarp was born on January 26, 1911 in Blankenburg, Germany. Arrived in the United States, 1912, naturalized, 1923. Son of John Matthias and Henrietta (van der Haas) Kusch.
physicist university professor
Kusch, Polykarp was born on January 26, 1911 in Blankenburg, Germany. Arrived in the United States, 1912, naturalized, 1923. Son of John Matthias and Henrietta (van der Haas) Kusch.
Bachelor of Science, Case Institute of Technology, 1931. Doctor of Science (honorary), Case Institute of Technology, 1956. Master of Science, University Illinois, 1933.
Doctor of Philosophy, University Illinois, 1936. Doctor of Science (honorary), University Illinois, 1961. Doctor of Science (honorary), Ohio State University, 1959.
Doctor of Science (honorary), Colby College, 1959. Doctor of Science (honorary), Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota, 1962. Doctor of Science (honorary), Yeshiva University, 1976.
Doctor of Science (honorary), College of Incarnate Word, 1980. Doctor of Science (honorary), Columbia University, 1983.
In 1955, the Nobel Committee gave a divided Nobel Prize for Physics, with one half to going to Kusch for his accurate determination that the magnetic moment of the electron was greater than its theoretical value, thus leading to reconsideration of—and innovations in—quantum electrodynamics. Kusch received his bachelor"s degree in physics in 1931 from Case Western Reserve University. From the University of Illinois, he received his master"s degree in 1933 and his Doctor of Philosophy in 1936.
He spent much of his career as a professor at Columbia University in New York City, and served as the university"s provost for several years before departing for the newly created University of Texas at Dallas.
He worked on molecular beam resonance studies under I. I. Rabi, then discovered the electron anomalous magnet moment. Many measurements of magnetic moments and hyperfine structure followed.
He expanded into chemical physics and continued to publish research on molecular beams. During his tenure at Columbia, he was the doctoral supervisor for Gordon Gould, the inventor of the laser.
Kusch House, a residential dormitory for undergraduate students at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio on the South Campus is named after Kusch.
lieutenant is located on Carlton Road in Cleveland Heights. His widow Betty died in 2003, aged 77.
Fellow: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Physical Society. Member: National Academy of Sciences, American Academy Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society.
Married Edith Starr McRoberts, August 12, 1935 (deceased 1959). Children: Kathryn, Judith, Sara. Married Betty Jane Pezzoni, 1960.
Children: Diana, Maria.