Willis E. Lamb Jr.

Nobel Laureate, Physics 1955

Regents Professor Emeritus of Optical Sciences
Regents Professor Emeritus of Physics
Regents Professor Emeritus, Arizona Research Laboratory

Photo: Professor Willis E. Lamb, Jr.Dr. Lamb died early in the morning on May 15, 2008 at the age of 95.  He is survived by his wife, Elsie Vezey Lamb and a brother, Perry, who lives in Maine.

 

Dr. Lamb received a Nobel Prize in 1955 for his experimental work on the fine structure of the hydrogen atom and discovery of a phenomenon called the Lamb shift.  His discovery revolutionized the quantum theory of matter and led physicists to rethink the basic concepts behind the application of quantum theory to electromagnetism.  His work became one of the foundations of quantum electrodynamics, a key aspect of modern elementary particle physics. 

 

Dr. Lamb joined the University of Arizona's Optical Sciences school in 1974 and retired in 2002.  He and friends established the Willis Lamb Jr. Scholarship in Optical Sciences as a legacy to all who pursue their passions and endeavors to discover great things.  A few weeks before his death, the scholarship was awarded for the first time to Amber Young, an Optical Sciences graduate student.

Contact Information: 

Dr. James C. Wyant, Dean, College of Optical Sciences

jcwyant@optics.arizona.edu  520-621-2448
 

Dr. Lamb's Abbreviated CV

 

Education

  • DSc, Columbia University, 1990
  • DSc, Gustavus Adolphus College, 1975
  • LHD, Yeshiva University, 1965
  • MA, Yale University, 1961
  • MA, Oxford University, 1956
  • DSc, University of Pennsylvania, 1953
  • PhD, University of California, 1938
  • BS, University of California, 1934

Employment

  • The University of Arizona: Regents Professor Emeritus, 2003-date; Regents Professor, 1989-2003; Professor Emeritus, Optical Sciences and Department of Physics, 2003-date; Professor, Optical Sciences and Department of Physics, 1974-2003; Arizona Research Laboratories, Professor Emeritus, 2003-date; Arizona Research Laboratories, Professor, 1983-2003
  • Yale University: J. Willard Gibbs Professor of Physics, 1972-1974, Henry Ford II Professor of Physics, 1962-1972
  • Oxford University: Wykeham Professor of Physics and Fellow of New College, 1956-1962
  • Stanford University: Professor, 1951-1956
  • Columbia University: Professor, 1945-1952; Instructor, 1938-1945

Awards and Honors

  • Nobel Prize in Physics, 1955
  • Nobel Foundation, Lennart Bernadotte Award, 2004
  • World Federation of Scientists, Gian Carlo Wick Gold Medal, 2002
  • National Medal of Science, 2000
  • Society for Optical and Quantum Electronics, Einstein Medal, 1992
  • Physical Society of London, Guthrie Award
  • National Academy of Sciences, Member
  • Optical Society of America, Fellow
  • American Physical Society, Fellow
  • Royal Society of Edinburgh, Honorary Fellow

Research

  • Quantum mechanics of optical phenomena, theory of measurement.