Allen V. Astin | |
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5th Director of the National Bureau of Standards | |
In office 1951–1969 | |
President | |
Preceded by | Edward Condon |
Succeeded by | Lewis M. Branscomb |
Personal details | |
Born | Allen Varley Astin June 12, 1904 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
Died | January 28, 1984 Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. | (aged 79)
Spouse | |
Children | |
Relatives |
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Alma mater | |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Physics |
Institutions | National Bureau of Standards |
Thesis | New method for measuring the dielectric constants of conducting liquids (1929) |
Doctoral advisor | William A. Lynch |
Allen Varley Astin (June 12, 1904 – January 28, 1984) was an American physicist who served as director of the United States National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) from 1951 until 1969. During the Second World War he worked on the proximity fuse. He was an advocate for introduction of metric weights and measures to the United States.[1] He was an elected member to the American Philosophical Society,[2] the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,[3] and the National Academy of Sciences.[4]