Former Faculty: MARSHALL NICHOLAS ROSENBLUTH

Faculty, Particle Physics, School of Natural Sciences, July 1967–June 1982

  • * PhD: University of Chicago, 1949
  • * Born: February 5, 1927 in Albany, NY; Deceased: September 28, 2003

Career Highlights:1

  • * After receiving his doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1949, he began an analysis of the scattering of relativistic electrons within nuclei, which led to his discovery of the so-called Rosenbluth formula.
  • * In 1950, he was recruited by Edward Teller as one of the principal theoreticians at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico, doing classified research that led to the development of the hydrogen bomb. He later joined a small group of eminent scientists that investigated the possible peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
  • * During this period, he led the research effort that developed the Monte Carlo algorithm, now a standard tool for research in statistical mechanics, chemistry, biochemistry and many other fields.
  • * Rosenbluth served as a key advisor to the Department of Energy for magnetic and inertial confinement fusion research and for a range of issues relating to national defense and disarmament.

Awards/Prizes include:

  • * E.O. Lawrence Prize (1964)
  • * Albert Einstein Award (1967)
  • * U.S. National Medal of Science (1977)
  • * Enrico Fermi Prize (1985)

1excerpts from his University of California, San Diego on-line obituary