Richard Garwin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Garwin
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Garwin in 2011
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Richard Lawrence Garwin
April 19, 1928 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
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| Died | May 13, 2025 (aged 97) Scarsdale, New York, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Case Institute of Technology (B.S.) University of Chicago (Ph.D.) |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom National Medal of Science Grande Médaille de l'Académie des Sciences Vannevar Bush Award |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | University of Chicago Columbia University Cornell University Harvard University |
| Thesis | An experimental investigation of the beta-gamma angular correlation in beta decay (1949) |
| Doctoral advisor | Enrico Fermi |
| Doctoral students | Myriam Sarachik |
Richard Lawrence Garwin (April 19, 1928 – May 13, 2025) was an American physicist. He was well-known for helping to design the first hydrogen bomb. He also helped use new scientific ideas to create useful technologies. These technologies often helped with national security and economic growth.
In 1978, Garwin became a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This was because he helped apply new scientific discoveries to practical engineering. His work helped both national security and the economy.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Richard Garwin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 19, 1928. He earned his first college degree from the Case Institute of Technology in 1947. Just two years later, at age 21, he received his Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) from the University of Chicago. His teacher there was the famous scientist Enrico Fermi.
Another one of Fermi's students, Marvin L. Goldberger, said that Fermi believed Garwin was "the only true genius he had ever met."
Amazing Career and Discoveries
After finishing his studies at the University of Chicago, Garwin became a physics teacher there. During summers, he worked as a consultant at Los Alamos National Laboratory. There, he helped with projects related to nuclear weapons.
Designing the Hydrogen Bomb
Richard Garwin was the person who created the actual design for the first hydrogen bomb. This bomb was code-named Mike and was tested in 1952. Edward Teller gave him this important job. Teller told Garwin to make the design as simple as possible. This was to prove that the idea of a hydrogen bomb could actually work.
Other Key Innovations
Garwin worked on many other important projects too:
- He helped develop the first spy satellites. These satellites helped countries gather information from space. Because of this work, he was named one of the ten founders of national reconnaissance (gathering information for security).
- While working at IBM, his research on spin-echo magnetic resonance helped create the basis for MRI. MRI is a way doctors can see inside the human body.
- He helped discover and share the Cooley–Tukey FFT algorithm. This is a very important tool used today in digital signal processing, like in your phone or computer.
- He also worked on gravitational waves, which are ripples in space-time.
- He played a big part in developing laser printers and touch-screen monitors. You probably use these technologies every day!
Garwin was granted 47 patents, which means he invented many things. He also wrote over 500 scientific papers.
Working at IBM and Universities
In December 1952, Garwin joined IBM's Watson laboratory. He worked there until he retired in 1993. He was an IBM Fellow Emeritus at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in New York.
During his career, Garwin split his time between:
- Applied research: solving practical problems.
- Basic science: exploring fundamental questions about how the world works.
- Consulting: giving advice to the U.S. Government on national security.
He also taught physics at different universities. He was a professor at Columbia University, Cornell University, and Harvard University. He was also a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Advising the U.S. Government
Garwin advised U.S. Presidents like Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. He was part of the U.S. President's Science Advisory Committee from 1962–65 and 1969–72.
He was also a member of the JASON Defense Advisory Group starting in 1966. This group was made up of university scientists who advised the government. In 1968, Garwin traveled to Vietnam with other scientists. They went to check on an "electronic barrier" they had helped create. This barrier used sensors to detect movement. In the 1980s and 1990s, he suggested ideas for anti-ballistic missiles. One idea was called the "bed of nails defense," but it was never built.
From 1993 to 2001, he led the Arms Control and Nonproliferation Advisory Board for the U.S. Department of State. He also served on many other important committees that advised the government on science and security.
In 2017, a book was written about him called True Genius: The Life and Work of Richard Garwin. The author, Joel N. Shurkin, called him "the most influential scientist you never heard of."
Personal Life
In 1947, Richard Garwin married Lois Levy. They had three children together. Lois passed away in 2018. Richard Garwin died at his home in Scarsdale, New York, on May 13, 2025, when he was 97 years old.
Honors and Awards
Richard Garwin received many important awards for his work:
- The National Medal of Science (2002): This is the highest honor for science and engineering in the United States. He received it for his research in physics and for giving valuable scientific advice to the nation for over 50 years.
- La Grande Médaille de l'Académie des Sciences: This is a similar high honor from France. He received it for his role in discovering parity violation in pion decay, which is an important concept in physics.
- He was elected to all three U.S. National Academies:
- The National Academy of Sciences (1966)
- The National Academy of Medicine (1975)
- The National Academy of Engineering (1978)
- He was also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1969) and the American Philosophical Society (1979).
- In 2016, President Barack Obama gave Garwin the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is one of the highest civilian awards in the United States.
- He also received the 1988 AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility and the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement in 1997.
See also
- Accelerator-driven subcritical reactor
- Energy amplifier
- Laura Garwin, science journalist and trumpeter, Garwin's daughter
- Megawatts and Megatons
