James Cronin | |
|---|---|
 Cronin at the 2010 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting | |
| Born | James Watson Cronin September 29, 1931 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | August 25, 2016 (aged 84) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Southern Methodist University University of Chicago |
| Known for | Nuclear physics |
| Spouse |
Annette Martin (m. 1954) |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | E. O. Lawrence Award (1976) Nobel Prize in Physics (1980) John Price Wetherill Medal National Medal of Science |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | University of Chicago University of Utah |
James Watson Cronin (September 29, 1931 – August 25, 2016[1]) was an American particle physicist.[2][3]
Cronin and co-researcher Val Logsdon Fitch were awarded the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physics for a 1964 experiment that proved that certain subatomic reactions do not adhere to fundamental symmetry principles. Specifically, they proved, by examining the decay of kaons, that a reaction run in reverse does not merely retrace the path of the original reaction, which showed that the interactions of subatomic particles are not invariant under time reversal. Thus the phenomenon of CP violation was discovered.[4][5][6][7][excessive citations]
Cronin received the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award in 1976 for major experimental contributions to particle physics including fundamental work on weak interactions culminating in the discovery of asymmetry under time reversal. In 1999, he was awarded the National Medal of Science.[8]
Cronin was Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago winning the prestigious Quantrell Award[9] and a spokesperson emeritus for the Auger project. He was a member of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
- ^ "Nobel laureate, U of C professor emeritus James Cronin dead at 84". 2016-08-28.
- ^ Watson, Alan (2016). "James Cronin (1931–2016) Particle physicist who helped to explain the dominance of matter in the Universe". Nature. 537 (7621). London: Springer Nature: 489. Bibcode:2016Natur.537..489W. doi:10.1038/537489a. PMID 27652559.
- ^ Watson, Alan (2018). "James Watson Cronin. 29 September 1931 — 25 August 2016". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 65: 47–70. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2018.0021. ISSN 0080-4606.
- ^ Harrison, Theresa (August 2014). "Anniversary: CP violation's early days" (PDF). CERN Courier. 54 (6): 21–22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2015-03-31.
- ^ Harrison, Paul (November 2014). "Anniversary: CP violation: past, present and future" (PDF). CERN Courier. 54 (9): 32–34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2015-03-31.
- ^ Ellis, John (October 1999). "Why does CP violation matter to the universe?". CERN Courier. 39 (8): 24–26.
- ^ Bauer, Gerry (June 1999). "In hot pursuit of CP violation". CERN Courier. 39 (5): 22–25.
- ^ National Science Foundation - The President's National Medal of Science
- ^ "Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching".