Ernest Courant

Ernest David Courant (March 26, 1920 – April 21, 2020) was an American accelerator physicist. He was a distinguished scientist emeritus at Brookhaven National Laboratory and an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan. In 1976, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Courant was the eldest son of the mathematician Richard Courant.

Courant was a fundamental contributor to modern large-scale particle accelerator concepts. His most notable discovery was his 1952 work with Milton S. Livingston and Hartland Snyder on the Strong focusing principle, a critical step in the development of modern particle accelerators like the synchrotron, though this work was preceded by that of Nicholas Christofilos. Courant was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics five times, each nomination being joint with Livingston, but they were never so honored.