Nicolaas Bloembergen
Encyclopedia
Nicolaas Bloembergen is a Dutch
-American
physicist
and Nobel laureate.
He received his Ph.D.
degree from University of Leiden in 1948; while pursuing his PhD at Harvard, Bloembergen also worked part-time as a graduate research assistant for Edward Mills Purcell
at the MIT Radiation Laboratory http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1981/bloembergen-autobio.html. He became a professor at Harvard University
in Applied Physics.
Bloembergen enrolled in 1938 at the University of Utrecht to study physics. Bloembergen left the war ravaged Netherlands in 1945 to pursue graduate studies at Harvard University. Six weeks before his arrival, Harvard Professor Edward M. Purcell (along with his graduate students Torrey and Pound) discovered nuclear magnetic resonance
. Bloembergen was hired to develop a first NMR machine. While at Harvard he enjoyed classes from J. Schwinger
, J. H. van Vleck
, and E. C. Kemble
. His thesis Nuclear Magnetic Relaxation was submitted in Leiden, where he passed qualifying criteria. After a brief postdoctoral appointment with C. J. Gorter in the Netherlands, he joined Harvard where he was named a junior fellow of Society of Fellows in 1949 and Associate Professor in 1951.
In 1958, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States
.
He was awarded the Lorentz Medal
in 1978. Bloembergen shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics
with Arthur Schawlow
and Kai Siegbahn for their work in laser
spectroscopy
. Bloembergen and Schawlow investigated properties of matter undetectable without lasers. He had earlier modified the maser
of Charles Townes. Bloembergen serves on the University of Arizona
faculty.
Bloembergen belongs to prolific J. J. Thomson
academic lineage tree, following in footsteps of other Nobel
Laureates beginning with Lord Rayleigh (Physics Nobel Prize in 1904) and J. J. Thomson
(Nobel 1906), and continued with Ernest Rutherford
(Nobel Prize in Chemistry
1908), Owen Richardson (Physics Nobel, 1928) and finally Bloembergen's advisor, Edward Purcell
(Physics Nobel 1952). Prof. Bloembergen is a member of the Board of Sponsors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and Honorary Editor of the Journal of Nonlinear Optical Physics & Materials
. His other influences included John Van Vleck (Physics Nobel 1977) and Percy Bridgman (Physics Nobel 1946).
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physicist
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and Nobel laureate.
He received his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree from University of Leiden in 1948; while pursuing his PhD at Harvard, Bloembergen also worked part-time as a graduate research assistant for Edward Mills Purcell
Edward Mills Purcell
Edward Mills Purcell was an American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics for his independent discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids. Nuclear magnetic resonance has become widely used to study the molecular structure of pure materials and the...
at the MIT Radiation Laboratory http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1981/bloembergen-autobio.html. He became a professor at 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 Applied Physics.
Bloembergen enrolled in 1938 at the University of Utrecht to study physics. Bloembergen left the war ravaged Netherlands in 1945 to pursue graduate studies at Harvard University. Six weeks before his arrival, Harvard Professor Edward M. Purcell (along with his graduate students Torrey and Pound) discovered nuclear magnetic resonance
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Nuclear magnetic resonance is a physical phenomenon in which magnetic nuclei in a magnetic field absorb and re-emit electromagnetic radiation...
. Bloembergen was hired to develop a first NMR machine. While at Harvard he enjoyed classes from J. Schwinger
Julian Schwinger
Julian Seymour Schwinger was an American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work on the theory of quantum electrodynamics, in particular for developing a relativistically invariant perturbation theory, and for renormalizing QED to one loop order.Schwinger is recognized as one of the...
, J. H. van Vleck
John Hasbrouck van Vleck
John Hasbrouck Van Vleck was an American physicist and mathematician, co-awarded the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics, for his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of electrons in magnetic solids....
, and E. C. Kemble
Edwin C. Kemble
Edwin Crawford Kemble was an American physicist who made contributions to the theory of quantum mechanics and molecular structure and spectroscopy...
. His thesis Nuclear Magnetic Relaxation was submitted in Leiden, where he passed qualifying criteria. After a brief postdoctoral appointment with C. J. Gorter in the Netherlands, he joined Harvard where he was named a junior fellow of Society of Fellows in 1949 and Associate Professor in 1951.
In 1958, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
He was awarded the Lorentz Medal
Lorentz Medal
Lorentz Medal is a prize awarded every four years by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. It was established in 1925 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the doctorate of Hendrik Lorentz. This solid gold medal is given for important contributions to theoretical physics, though...
in 1978. Bloembergen shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
with Arthur Schawlow
Arthur Leonard Schawlow
Arthur Leonard Schawlow was an American physicist. He is best remembered for his work on lasers, for which he shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Kai Siegbahn.-Biography:...
and Kai Siegbahn for their work in laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
spectroscopy
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
. Bloembergen and Schawlow investigated properties of matter undetectable without lasers. He had earlier modified the maser
Maser
A maser is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. Historically, “maser” derives from the original, upper-case acronym MASER, which stands for "Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation"...
of Charles Townes. Bloembergen serves on the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
faculty.
Bloembergen belongs to prolific J. J. Thomson
J. J. Thomson
Sir Joseph John "J. J." Thomson, OM, FRS was a British physicist and Nobel laureate. He is credited for the discovery of the electron and of isotopes, and the invention of the mass spectrometer...
academic lineage tree, following in footsteps of other Nobel
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
Laureates beginning with Lord Rayleigh (Physics Nobel Prize in 1904) and J. J. Thomson
J. J. Thomson
Sir Joseph John "J. J." Thomson, OM, FRS was a British physicist and Nobel laureate. He is credited for the discovery of the electron and of isotopes, and the invention of the mass spectrometer...
(Nobel 1906), and continued with Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM, FRS was a New Zealand-born British chemist and physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics...
(Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
1908), Owen Richardson (Physics Nobel, 1928) and finally Bloembergen's advisor, Edward Purcell
Edward Mills Purcell
Edward Mills Purcell was an American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics for his independent discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids. Nuclear magnetic resonance has become widely used to study the molecular structure of pure materials and the...
(Physics Nobel 1952). Prof. Bloembergen is a member of the Board of Sponsors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and Honorary Editor of the Journal of Nonlinear Optical Physics & Materials
Journal of Nonlinear Optical Physics & Materials
The Journal of Nonlinear Optical Physics & Materials is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1992 and is published by World Scientific...
. His other influences included John Van Vleck (Physics Nobel 1977) and Percy Bridgman (Physics Nobel 1946).
Honors
- Corresponding member, Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam, 1956
- Fellow, American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, 1956 - Member, National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, Washington, D.C., 1959 - Foreign Honorary Member, Indian Academy of SciencesIndian Academy of SciencesThe Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Sir C. V. Raman, and was registered as a Society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general meeting of Fellows, held on the same day, elected Professor Raman as President, and adopted...
, Bangalore, 1978 - Associé Étranger, Académie des Sciences, Paris, 1980
- Guggenheim Fellow, 1957
- Oliver Buckley Prize, American Physical Society, 1958
- IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial AwardIEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial AwardThe initially called Morris Liebmann Memorial Prize provided by the Institute of Radio Engineers , the IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award was created in 1919 in honor of Colonel Morris N. Liebmann. It was initially given to awardees who had "made public during the recent past an important...
, Institute of Radio EngineersInstitute of Radio EngineersThe Institute of Radio Engineers was a professional organization which existed from 1912 until January 1, 1963, when it merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers .-Founding:Following several attempts to form a...
, 1959 - Stuart Ballantine Medal, Franklin InstituteFranklin InstituteThe Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
, Philadelphia, 1961 - National Medal of ScienceNational Medal of ScienceThe National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
, President of the United States of America, 1974 - Lorentz MedalLorentz MedalLorentz Medal is a prize awarded every four years by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. It was established in 1925 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the doctorate of Hendrik Lorentz. This solid gold medal is given for important contributions to theoretical physics, though...
, Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam, 1978 - Frederic Ives Medal, Optical Society of AmericaOptical Society of AmericaThe Optical Society is a scientific society dedicated to advancing the study of light—optics and photonics—in theory and application, by means of publishing, organizing conferences and exhibitions, partnership with industry, and education. The organization has members in more than 100 countries...
, 1979 - Von Humboldt Senior Scientist, 1980
- Member Emeritus, United States National Academy of Engineering, 1984
External links
- Freeview video 'An Interview with Nicolaas Bloembergen' by the Vega Science Trust
- Nicolaas Bloembergen
- their contribution to the development of laser spectroscopy
- Oral History interview transcript with Nicolaas Bloembergen 27 June 1983, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives
- Autobiography at the Nobel Prize website