Helen T. Edwards facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Helen T. Edwards
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Physicist Helen Edwards speaking at the 12th International Conference on High-Energy Accelerators at Fermilab on August 14, 1983
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| Born | May 27, 1936 |
| Died | June 21, 2016 (aged 80) |
| Alma mater | Cornell University |
| Awards | E. O. Lawrence Award (1986) MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, National Medal of Technology |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Accelerator physics |
| Institutions | Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory |
Helen Thom Edwards (born May 27, 1936 – died June 21, 2016) was a brilliant American physicist. She was the main scientist who led the team to design and build the Tevatron. The Tevatron was a huge particle accelerator at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
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Helen Edwards' Amazing Career
Helen Edwards was most famous for her leadership in creating the Tevatron. For 25 years, the Tevatron was the most powerful particle collider in the world. A particle collider is like a giant race track for tiny particles. It makes them crash into each other at super high speeds. Scientists then study what happens during these crashes.
Discoveries with the Tevatron
The Tevatron first made protons and antiprotons collide in 1985. These collisions helped scientists find new particles. In 1995, they discovered the top quark. Then, in 2000, they found the tau neutrino. These were two of the three fundamental particles found at Fermilab.
Between 1989 and 1992, Helen Edwards also worked on another big project. This was the Superconducting Super Collider in Texas. However, this project was eventually stopped.
Developing New Accelerator Technology
After 1992, Edwards helped create new types of accelerators. These were called high-gradient, superconducting linear accelerators. She also worked on bright and strong electron sources.
She worked closely with scientists at DESY, a research center in Germany. They developed special superconducting accelerator technology. Helen led a team from Fermilab that worked with DESY in the 1990s. Her team even built a special part called a photoinjector for a test facility in Germany.
Thanks to her work, Fermilab now uses superconducting accelerator technology. This technology is key for their future proton accelerators.
Helen Edwards' Education
Helen Edwards went to The Madeira School and finished in 1953. She then studied at Cornell University starting in 1957. She earned her bachelor's degree in physics from Cornell.
She continued her studies there, getting her master's degree in physics. For her PhD, she worked under Boyce McDaniel. She earned her PhD from Cornell in 1966.
Important Roles and Positions
After getting her PhD in 1966, Helen Edwards stayed at Cornell. She worked as a research associate on a large electron synchrotron. This was under the guidance of Robert R. Wilson.
In 1970, she joined Wilson when he moved to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
Leading at Fermilab
When she first started at Fermilab, Helen was put in charge of the accelerator division. This was a very important role. Her most famous work was overseeing the building of the Tevatron. This was one of the most powerful superconducting particle accelerators ever built. Her work on the Tevatron was supervised by Leon M. Lederman.
Here are some of the main positions Helen Edwards held:
- 1966-70: Research Associate, 10 GEV Electron Synchrotron, Cornell University
- 1970-87: Associate Head of the Booster Group, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
- 1987-89: Head, Accelerator Division, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
- 1989-92: Head & Associate Director, Superconducting Division, Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory, Dallas
- 1988: MacArthur Fellow (a special award for talented people)
- 1992–2010: Guest Scientist, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
People said that Helen "knew how to bring the right people together to carry out a project and how to encourage them to success." She was also remembered as a very kind person who loved nature.
Awards and Honors
Helen Edwards received many important awards for her work:
- Robert R. Wilson Prize for Achievement in the Physics of Particle Accelerators from the American Physical Society (2003)
- USPAS Prize for Achievement in Accelerator Physics and Technology (1985)
- E. O. Lawrence Award from the U.S. Department of Energy (1986)
- MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1988)
- Elected to the National Academy of Engineering (1988)
- National Medal of Technology (1989)
