Francis Wheeler Loomis
Encyclopedia
Francis Wheeler Loomis born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, was an American
scientist most widely known for his contributions in the field of physics. Loomis received his PhD from Harvard University
in 1917 studying the field of thermodynamics
.
Loomis was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1928 studying abroad at Zürich and Göttingen, and in 1929, Loomis came to the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign to become the head of the Department of Physics, a position he would retain until 1957. Loomis was challenged in bringing top-notch physics talent to a university in the rural Midwest. When approached by Loomis to join his staff, Isidor Isaac Rabi
stated bluntly "I love subways and I hate cows." While building the department, Loomis attracted two-time Nobel recipient John Bardeen
to join the staff, and had 1955 Nobel Prize winner Polykarp Kusch
as a graduate student.
During World War II, Loomis was the associate head of the MIT Radiation Laboratory supporting the national defense. The interruption of the war also required Loomis to restart his building of the physics department as two-thirds of the faculty he added in the 1930's moved elsewhere due to the many defense projects related to the war.
At the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign the main physics building was renamed the Loomis Laboratory of Physics posthumously in his honor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
scientist most widely known for his contributions in the field of physics. Loomis received his PhD from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1917 studying the field of thermodynamics
Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...
.
Loomis was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1928 studying abroad at Zürich and Göttingen, and in 1929, Loomis came to the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign to become the head of the Department of Physics, a position he would retain until 1957. Loomis was challenged in bringing top-notch physics talent to a university in the rural Midwest. When approached by Loomis to join his staff, Isidor Isaac Rabi
Isidor Isaac Rabi
Isidor Isaac Rabi was a Galician-born American physicist and Nobel laureate recognized in 1944 for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance.-Early years:...
stated bluntly "I love subways and I hate cows." While building the department, Loomis attracted two-time Nobel recipient John Bardeen
John Bardeen
John Bardeen was an American physicist and electrical engineer, the only person to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first in 1956 with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for the invention of the transistor; and again in 1972 with Leon Neil Cooper and John Robert Schrieffer for a...
to join the staff, and had 1955 Nobel Prize winner Polykarp Kusch
Polykarp Kusch
Polykarp Kusch was a German-American physicist. In 1955 he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics with Willis Eugene Lamb for his accurate determination that the magnetic moment of the electron was greater than its theoretical value, thus leading to reconsideration of—and...
as a graduate student.
During World War II, Loomis was the associate head of the MIT Radiation Laboratory supporting the national defense. The interruption of the war also required Loomis to restart his building of the physics department as two-thirds of the faculty he added in the 1930's moved elsewhere due to the many defense projects related to the war.
At the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign the main physics building was renamed the Loomis Laboratory of Physics posthumously in his honor.