Albert Overhauser
Albert Warner Overhauser ( born August 17, 1925 in San Diego, California, † December 10, 2011 in West Lafayette, Indiana) was an American physicist and member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is known for his theory of named after him, the nuclear Overhauser effect.
Overhauser went to Lick- Wilmerding High School in San Francisco and began his undergraduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley in 1942. He interrupted during the Second World War his studies for two years for his service in the reserve of the U.S. Navy and then returned to Berkeley to finish his education. In 1948 he received the undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics, and in 1951 the Ph.D. in physics.
From 1951 to 1953 he was a post -doctoral student at the University of Illinois. There he developed an important theory of the transfer of spin polarization. When the theory was confirmed and demonstrated by other scientists, the theory became known as the nuclear Overhauser effect.
From 1953 to 1958 he was on the faculty of Cornell University and then went to a research team at the Ford Motor Company. Overhauser remained until 1973 when Ford, then go to Purdue University.
Awards and honors
- National Medal of Science, 1994
- Election to the National Academy of Sciences, 1976
- Oliver E. Buckley Solid State Physics Prize, 1975
- Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Simon Fraser University, 1998
- Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Chicago, 1979
- Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Purdue University, 2005