Edward Allan Frieman (January 19, 1926 – April 11, 2013) was an American physicist who worked on

plasma physics Plasma ()πλάσμα
, Henry George Liddell, R ...

and

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles ( neutrons or protons). The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifest ...

. He was the director of the

Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for oceanography, ocean and Earth science research ...

from 1986 through 1996, and then the senior vice president of science and technology at the

Science Applications International Corporation Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Inc. is an American technology company headquartered in Reston, Virginia that provides government services and information technology support. History The original SAIC was created in 196 ...

from 1996 on until his death in 2013.

Early life and career

Frieman was born in New York in 1926. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served as a deep-sea diving officer and was a participant in the atomic tests at

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese: , , meaning "coconut place"), sometimes known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 1800s and 1946 is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. After the Second ...

. After the war,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

granted him a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1946. He then received his master's and doctorate degrees in physics from the

Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United Sta ...

in 1948 and 1951 respectively. Frieman spent 25 years at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, becoming a professor of astrophysical science in 1961. It was during this period of time where he was noted to have advised

Charles Kennel Charles F. Kennel (born August 20, 1939) is an American plasma physicist and former Associate Administrator of NASA. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and won the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics in 1997. In ...

on his doctoral thesis. In 1979, he was nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

to be the director of

Office of Science The Office of Science is a component of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The Office of Science is the lead federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for energy and the Nation’s largest supporter of basic research in t ...

within the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

. He served in the position from 1980 to 1981. In 1981, he became an executive vice president of the

, a high-tech company in La Jolla. In 1986, Frieman became the director of the

, a research institution at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

. Frieman also served on the boards of the

American University in Paris The American University of Paris (AUP) is a private, independent, and accredited liberal arts university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe, and the first to ...

and the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation.

Awards and honors

In 1962, Frieman was elected 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 ...

(APS) and then inducted into the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in 1981. He was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1990. In 2002, Frieman was awarded the

James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics is an annual American Physical Society (APS) award that is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of the Plasma Physics. It was established in 1975 by Maxwell Technologies, ...

by APS.

References

External links

Oral history interview transcript with Edward Frieman in 25 June 1986, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives

Oral history interview transcript with Edward Frieman in June 2004, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frieman, Edward A. 1926 births 2013 deaths Plasma physicists American physicists Members of JASON (advisory group) Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences United States Department of Energy officials Carter administration personnel Members of the American Philosophical Society Fellows of the American Physical Society