Daniel Kleppner
Daniel Kleppner | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 16, 1932 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | June 16, 2025 (aged 92) Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Williams College (BA) University of Cambridge Harvard University (PhD) |
| Known for | Hydrogen maser |
| Spouse |
Beatrice Spencer (m. 1958) |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Lilienfeld Prize (1991) MIT Killian Award (1995-96) Oersted Medal (1997) Wolf Prize in Physics (2005) National Medal of Science (2006) Frederic Ives Medal (2007) Franklin Institute Award (2014) APS Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research (2017) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | AMO physics |
| Institutions | MIT |
| Thesis | The Broken Beam Resonance Experiment (1959) |
| Doctoral advisor | Norman Ramsey |
| Doctoral students | David E. Pritchard William Daniel Phillips Julia Steinberger |
| Website | physics |
Daniel Kleppner (December 16, 1932 – June 16, 2025) was an American physicist who was the Lester Wolfe Professor Emeritus of Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and co-founder and co-director of the MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms. His areas of science included atomic, molecular, and optical physics, and his research interests included experimental atomic physics, laser spectroscopy, and high precision measurements.
Working with Norman Ramsey Jr., he helped create the first hydrogen maser in 1960.
Together with Robert J. Kolenkow, he authored a popular textbook An Introduction to Mechanics for advanced students.