Feza Gürsey''Feza Gürsey'' was elected to The American Physical Society Fellow in 1986 for his important contributions to symmetries of particles through the use of Group Theory; the introduction of chiral symmetry and the SU(6) symmetry of the quark model; and the introduction of exceptional groups to particle physics. /ref> (; April 7, 1921 – April 13, 1992) was a
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
and
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
. Among his most prominent contributions to
theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...
, his works on the
Chiral model
In nuclear physics, the chiral model, introduced by Feza Gürsey in 1960, is a phenomenological model describing effective interactions of mesons in the chiral limit (where the masses of the quarks go to zero), but without necessarily mentionin ...
and on SU(6) are most popular.
Early life
Feza Gürsey was born on April 7, 1921, in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
Remziye Hisar
Remziye Hisar (1902 – 13 June 1992) was a Turkish academic and chemist. As the first Turkish woman with a degree from Sorbonne University, she occupied academic positions at various Turkish universities during her career and published numerous ...
, a chemist and a pioneering female Turkish scientist. He graduated from
Galatasaray High School
Galatasaray High School ( tr, Galatasaray Lisesi, french: Lycée de Galatasaray), established in what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul, in 1481, is the oldest high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational in ...
in 1940, and received his degree in Mathematics – Physics from
Istanbul University
, image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg
, image_size = 200px
, latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis
, motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü
, mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future
, established = 1453 1846 1933
...
in 1944.
Career
Through a scholarship from the Turkish Ministry of Education he received while he was an assistant in Istanbul University, he pursued a doctorate degree at the
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
in the United Kingdom. He completed his work on the application of
quaternions
In mathematics, the quaternion number system extends the complex numbers. Quaternions were first described by the Irish mathematician William Rowan Hamilton in 1843 and applied to mechanics in three-dimensional space. Hamilton defined a quatern ...
to
quantum field theory
In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and ...
in 1950. After spending the period from 1950 to 1951 in postdoctoral research at
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 ...
, he worked as an assistant at
Istanbul University
, image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg
, image_size = 200px
, latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis
, motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü
, mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future
, established = 1453 1846 1933
...
, where he married Suha Pamir, also a physics assistant, in 1952, and in 1953 he acquired the title of associate professor.
During 1957–1961 he worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory,
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...
in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
, and
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 ...
Lagrangian
Lagrangian may refer to:
Mathematics
* Lagrangian function, used to solve constrained minimization problems in optimization theory; see Lagrange multiplier
** Lagrangian relaxation, the method of approximating a difficult constrained problem with ...
, and produced results of relevance to
quantum chromodynamics
In theoretical physics, quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of the strong interaction between quarks mediated by gluons. Quarks are fundamental particles that make up composite hadrons such as the proton, neutron and pion. QCD is a type ...
.
Returning to Turkey in 1961, he accepted the title of professor from
Middle East Technical University
Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish language, Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a public university, public Institute of technology, technical university located in Ankara, Turkey. The ...
(METU) and took part in the establishment of METU Department of Theoretical Physics. Continuing his work as a lecturer at METU until 1974, he formed a research group.
Being offered a position at Yale University in 1965, he started to work in both Yale University and METU, until 1974, when he decided to give up his position in METU and settle in the United States to continue with Yale. During these years, he took part in the formulation of E(6)grand unified theories.
Death and legacy
Gürsey died in 1992, in New Haven, Connecticut. He is survived by his son, Yusuf Gürsey. The
Feza Gürsey Institute Feza Gürsey Institute ( tr, Feza Gürsey Enstitüsü) is a joint institute of Boğaziçi University and TÜBİTAK (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) on physics research, founded in 1983 by Erdal İnönü with the name ''Res ...
TÜBİTAK
The Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, TÜBİTAK) is a national agency of Turkey whose stated goal is to develop "science, technology and innovation" (STI) policies ...
in Turkey, is named in his honor.
Edward Witten notes:
Publications
* (With Chia-Hsiung Tze) On the Role of Division, Jordan, and Related Algebras in Particle Physics (1996),
J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize
The J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize and Medal was awarded by the Center for Theoretical Studies, University of Miami, from 1969, until 1984. Established in memory of US physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the award consisted of a medal, certific ...
R. Griffiths
R. or r. may refer to:
* ''Reign'', the period of time during which an Emperor, king, queen, etc., is ruler.
* ''Rex (title), Rex'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning King
* ''Regina'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning Queen regna ...
in Natural Sciences
*1981 Collège de France Award
*1983 Honorary title of " Commendatore" by Italy
*1986 Wigner medal administered by the Group Theory and Fundamental Physics Foundation
*1989 Award of Association of Turkish - American Scientists and Engineers
*1990 Galatasaray Foundation Award
The
Feza Gürsey Institute Feza Gürsey Institute ( tr, Feza Gürsey Enstitüsü) is a joint institute of Boğaziçi University and TÜBİTAK (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) on physics research, founded in 1983 by Erdal İnönü with the name ''Res ...
in Istanbul and
Feza Gürsey Science Center
Feza Gürsey Science Center ( tr, Feza Gürsey Bilim Merkezi, FGBM) is a science museum in Ankara, Turkey. It is named after Feza Gürsey (1921 - 1992), the renowned Turkish mathematician and physicist.
The center was founded by the Metropolita ...
in Ankara are named in his honor. Boğaziçi University maintains a Feyza Gürsey Archive. His bronze likeness can be encountered at a number of places in Turkey, for example a sculpture by Charlotte Langlands is present at the
Nesin Mathematics Village
Nesin Mathematics Village ( tr, Nesin Matematik Köyü) is an educational and research institute devoted to mathematics, which is located from Şirince village in Selçuk district of Izmir Province in western Turkey.
It was launched in 2007 ...