Herman Winick (born June 27, 1932) is an American scientist and Professor Emeritus at the
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center,
is a United States Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Stanford University under the programmatic direction of the U.S. Departme ...
(SLAC) and the Applied Physics Department of
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
.
Biography
After receiving his AB (1953) and PhD (1957) in physics from
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 ...
, he continued work in experimental high energy physics at the
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees.
The University of Roc ...
(1957–59) and then as a member of the scientific staff and Assistant Director of the Cambridge Electron Accelerator at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
(1959–73).
Work
He is best known for his leadership role, starting in the mid-1970s, in the development of
wiggler and
undulator
An undulator is an insertion device from high-energy physics and usually part of a larger
installation, a synchrotron storage ring, or it may be a component of a free electron laser. It consists of a periodic structure of dipole magnets. These ca ...
magnet insertion devices as advanced synchrotron radiation sources.
Since retirement he is focusing largely on synchrotron light sources in developing countries such as the
(SESAME), work he began in 1998,
the African Light Source and the Mexican Light Source.
Human rights activities
His human rights activities started in the 1980s working on behalf of dissidents from the China, Iran, the Soviet Union, and other countries.
Award
In 2005 he received the
Heinz R. Pagels Human Rights of Scientists Award from the
New York Academy of Sciences
The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wit ...
.
Winick received the third
Andrei Sakharov Prize
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, commonly known as the Sakharov Prize, is an honorary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought. Named after Russian scientis ...
from 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) in 2010 "for tireless and effective personal leadership in defense of human rights of scientists throughout the world".
References
External links
Herman Winick, Professor (Emeritus)at Photon Science,
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center,
is a United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Stanford Univers ...
1932 births
21st-century American physicists
Philosophers of science
Living people
{{US-physicist-stub