Richard C. Slansky (3 April 1940 – 16 January 1998) was an American

theoretical physicist 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 experime ...

. Slansky received his bachelor's degree from

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 highe ...

and his PhD under Elliot Leader from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

. As a post-doc he was at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

and then for five years at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

, before he joined in 1974 the newly founded theory group for particle physics at

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...

under Peter A. Carruthers. In 1989 he became head of the theory group. He was also an adjunct professor at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...

. He died of a brain aneurysm. Slansky worked on

Grand Unified Theory A Grand Unified Theory (GUT) is a model in particle physics in which, at high energies, the three gauge interactions of the Standard Model comprising the electromagnetic, weak, and strong forces are merged into a single force. Although this ...

s (GUTs). His monograph "Group theory for unified model building" was well known and widely used by GUT theorists. He gained international recognition for his work on the applications of group theory to GUTs, published 85 scientific papers, and served as editor of the journal '' Physics Reports''. In 1983 he was one of the founders of the

Santa Fe Institute The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, inclu ...

. He was a fellow of both 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 ...

(1987) and the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

References

External links

Obituary
from

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gen ...

(PDF file; 34 kB)
publications of slansky,r - INSPIRE-HEP

* ttps://arxiv.org/abs/1306.4669 "Complex Spinors and Unified Theories" by Gell-Mann, Ramond, & Slansky, retro-preprint of 1979 paper, arxiv.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Slansky, Richard 1940 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American physicists Harvard University alumni Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel Theoretical physicists University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Irvine faculty Santa Fe Institute people Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science