Anthony Philip French (November 19, 1920 – February 3, 2017) was a British professor of physics at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. He was born in

Brighton, England Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. French was a graduate of

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, receiving his B.A. in 1942 and Ph.D. in 1948, both in physics. In 1942, he began working on the British effort to build an atomic bomb (codenamed

Tube Alloys Tube Alloys was the research and development programme authorised by the United Kingdom, with participation from Canada, to develop nuclear weapons during the Second World War. Starting before the Manhattan Project in the United States, the Bri ...

) at the

Cavendish Laboratory The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the School of Physical Sciences. The laboratory was opened in 1874 on the New Museums Site as a laboratory for experimental physics and is named ...

. By 1944, Tube Alloys had been merged with the American

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

and he was sent to Los Alamos. When the war ended, he returned to the United Kingdom, where he spent a couple of years at the newly formed

Atomic Energy Research Establishment The Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) was the main Headquarters, centre for nuclear power, atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from 1946 to the 1990s. It was created, owned and funded by the British Governm ...

. He later joined the faculty at Cambridge, where he conducted his research at Cavendish and became a Fellow and Director of Studies in Natural Sciences at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

. In 1955, French arrived at the University of South Carolina, where he was made chairman of the physics department. He left South Carolina in 1962 to take a faculty position in the

MIT Physics Department The MIT Department of Physics has over 120 faculty members, is often cited as the largest physics department in the United States, and hosts top-ranked programs. It offers the SB, SM, PhD, and ScD degrees. Fourteen alumni of the department an ...

, where he remained until his death. French's main interest was undergraduate physics education. He was chairman of the Commission on Physics Education of the

International Union of Pure and Applied Physics The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP ) is an international non-governmental organization whose mission is to assist in the worldwide development of physics, to foster international cooperation in physics, and to help in the ...

(1975-1981) and president of the

American Association of Physics Teachers The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) was founded in 1930 for the purpose of "dissemination of knowledge of physics, particularly by way of teaching." There are more than 10,000 members in over 30 countries. AAPT publications includ ...

(1985-1986). He was also a Fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

Books

* * * * * * * *

Awards and honors

* 1980 University Medal of the Charles University, Prague * 1988 Lawrence Bragg Medal of the Institute of Physics, London * 1989

Oersted Medal The Oersted Medal recognizes notable contributions to the teaching of physics. Established in 1936, it is awarded by the American Association of Physics Teachers. The award is named for Hans Christian Ørsted. It is the Association's most prestig ...

of the

* 1991 Named Professor Emeritus at MIT * 1993

Melba Newell Phillips Medal Melba Newell Phillips (February 1, 1907 – November 8, 2004) was an American physicist and pioneer science educator. One of the first doctoral students of J. Robert Oppenheimer at the University of California, Berkeley, Phillips completed her Ph ...

of the

References

External links

2008 Video Interview with Anthony French by Atomic Heritage Foundation
Voices of the Manhattan Project
1992 Video Video Interview with Anthony French by Los Alamos Historical Society
Voices of the Manhattan Project
Anthony French's web page at MIT1992 Video interview with Anthony French by Theresa Strottman
Voices of the Manhattan Project
Anthony French's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Anthony 1920 births 2017 deaths Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty Manhattan Project people Fellows of the American Physical Society British expatriates in the United States Alumni of the University of Cambridge