Harald Herborg Nielsen (January 25, 1903 – January 8, 1973) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

physicist.

Biography

He was born in

Menominee, Michigan Menominee ( ) is a city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,599 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Menominee County, Michigan, Menominee Cou ...

, to Knud Nielsen and Maren Sorensen, immigrant parents who had moved to the United States from

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. He was the brother of Alvin H. Nielsen. His college education was attained at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, where he earned a Ph.D. He then spent a year at the Bohr's Institute in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

as a Scandinavian-American Fellow. In 1930 he joined the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, where he remained until his retirement. Much of his work at OSU involved the

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

spectra of

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s; particularly with regard to their vibrational-rotational energies. He performed pioneering design work with high-resolution spectrographs, and made major theoretical contributions on molecular spectra. From 1946 until 1967 he was chairman of the physics department. He held a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

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 ...

from 1949 to 1950, served as

science attaché A science attaché (also known as a scientific attaché or a technical attaché) is a member of a diplomatic mission, usually an embassy. A science attaché traditionally had three primary functions: advise the ambassador on scientific and technica ...

for the U.S. Embassy in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

from 1952 to 1953, and was a

Fulbright Lecturer The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

from 1958 to 1959. He also served as editor of the ''

Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy ''Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that deals with experimental and theoretical articles on all subjects relevant to molecular spectroscopy and its modern applications. Indexing and abstracting According t ...

''. He died on January 8, 1973, in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

Awards and honors

* 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 ...

. * Elected to the

Cosmos Club The Cosmos Club is a 501(c)(7) private social club in Washington, D.C. that was founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878 as a gentlemen's club for those interested in science. Among its stated goals is, "The advancement of its members in science, ...

, 1954. * Cross of the

Order of Leopold (Belgium) The Order of Leopold ( nl, Leopoldsorde, french: Ordre de Léopold, ) is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Le ...

, 1953. * Cross of the Order of Knights of Dannebrog, Denmark, 1957. * University Medal,

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

. * Honorary Doctorate,

University of Dijon A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. * The lunar crater Nielsen is co-named for him and

Axel Nielsen Axel Vilfred Nielsen (13 December 1902 – 24 February 1970) was a Danish astronomer at the Ole Rømer Observatory in Aarhus from 1927 until his death in 1970. In 1921, while still a student, Nielsen established his private observatory "Spica" ...

Biography

Awards and honors

References

Further reading