William A. Fowler
- Born: August 9, 1911 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- Died: March 14, 1995 (Pasadena, California)
Education
- 1933: BEngPhys, Ohio State University
- 1936: PhD, California Institute of Technology (Physics)
Major Positions
- 1936–1939: California Institute of Technology, Research Fellow in Nuclear Physics
- 1939–1942: California Institute of Technology, Assistant Professor of Physics
- 1942–1946: California Institute of Technology, Associate Professor of Physics
- 1946–1970: California Institute of Technology, Professor of Physics
- 1970–1982: California Institute of Technology, Institute Professor of Physics
- 1982–1995: California Institute of Technology, Institute Professor of Physics Emeritus
Other Positions
- 1941–1941: National Defense Research Committee, Researcher, Section T, Division 4
- 1941–1945: National Defense Research Committee, Assistant Director of Research, Section L, Division 3
- 1944–1944: Office of Scientific Research and Development, Technical Observer, Office of Field Services
- 1945–1945: United States Navy, Acting Supervisor, Naval Ordnance Test Station
- 1951–1952: California Institute of Technology, Scientific Director, Project Vista
- 1954–1955: Cambridge University, Guggenheim Fellow
- 1961–1962: Cambridge University, Guggenheim Fellow, St. Johns College
- 1963–1963: University of Washington, Walker-Ames Professor of Physics
- 1964–1964: Cambridge University, Visitor
- 1966–1966: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visiting Professor of Physics
- 1976–1976: American Physical Society, President
Selected Part-Time Positions
- 1958–1961: Member, Council, American Physical Society
- 1965–1968: Member, Council, American Physical Society
- 1968–1974: Member, National Science Board, National Science Foundation
- 1970–1973: Member, Space Science Board, National Academy of Sciences
- 1971–1974: Chair, Physics Section, National Academy of Sciences
- 1974–1977: Member, Council, National Academy of Sciences
- 1974–1980: Member, Governing Board, American Institute of Physics
- 1975–1975: Member, Executive Committee, American Institute of Physics
- 1977–1979: Chair, Nuclear Science Advisory Committee, United States Department of Energy and National Science Foundation
- 1977–1980: Member, Space Science Board, National Academy of Sciences
- 1977–1981: Member, Nuclear Science Advisory Committee, United States Department of Energy and National Science Foundation
- 1978–1980: Member, Committee on US-Soviet Cooperation in Physics, National Academy of Sciences
- 1981–1984: Chair, Office of Physical Science, National Academy of Sciences
Selected Awards and Honors
- 1946: American Physical Society, Fellow
- 1956: National Academy of Sciences, Member
- 1970: American Physical Society, Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics
- 1974: National Medal of Science
- 1983: Nobel Prize in Physics
Archival Resources
California Institute of Technology, Institute Archives, Pasadena, California
Online Finding Aid
Oral History Interviews
- 1972: Available Online
- 1973: Available Online
- 1974: Available Online
- 1983: Available Online
Resources on the Web
Published Resources
W. Patrick McCray, "Project Vista, Caltech, and the Dilemmas of Lee DuBridge," Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences 34 (2004): 339-370
John Greenberg, "A Conversation with William A. Fowler, Part I," Physics in Perspective 7 (2005): 66-106
John Greenberg, "A Conversation with William A. Fowler, Part II," Physics in Perspective 7 (2005): 165-203
