Norman Ramsey Jr.

Norman Foster Ramsey Jr.
Born(1915-08-27)August 27, 1915
Washington, D.C., U.S.
DiedNovember 4, 2011(2011-11-04) (aged 96)
Education
Known forRamsey interferometry
RelativesAnne Ramsey (cousin)
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
Institutions
Doctoral advisorIsidor Isaac Rabi
Doctoral students
Other notable studentsSunney Chan (post doc)

Norman Foster Ramsey Jr. (August 27, 1915 – November 4, 2011) was an American physicist who was awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention of the separated oscillatory field method (see Ramsey interferometry), which had important applications in the construction of atomic clocks. A physics professor at Harvard University for most of his career, Ramsey also held several posts with such government and international agencies as NATO and the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Among his other accomplishments are helping to found the United States Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and Fermilab.