Isidor Isaac Rabi* (1898-1988)

7/29/1898, Born, Rymanow, Galicia
1900, Family immigrated to U.S.
Early education in Hebrew school and in public grammar schools in the Lower East Side of NYC.
Principally self-educated through library reading.











1916, Graduated Manual Training High School, Brooklyn
1916-19, Cornell U., B.S. Chemistry



1919-22, Could not find meaningful employment in industry or academia.
1922, Cornell U., Graduate Studies
1923-26, Transferred to Columbia U. reportedly to be close to his fiance who he later married.


1926, Ph.D.”Magnetic Properties of Crystals”
1927-29, U. Zurich (Schrodinger)
              , U. Munich (Sommerfeld)
              , Copenhagen (Bohr)
              , U. Hamburg (Pauli & Sterns)
              , U. Leipzig (Heisenberg)
1929-67, Columbia U
  1929, Lecturer in Theoretical Physics
  1930-35. Assistant Professor
  1935-37, Associate Professor
  1937-64, Full Professor
  1964-67, University Professor


1937, Paper on use of Magnetic Resonance


11/1940-45, Deputy Director, Radiation Lab, MIT. Worked on radar and consulted on the atom bomb with Oppenheimer at Los Alamos.
1944, Nobel Prize, “Resonance method of recording magnetic properties of atomic nuclei”
1945,Returned to Columbia U. as Chairman, Physics Dept. to completely rebuild department.         
1946, Major sponsor of Brookhaven National Lab.
1946-1956, Member, General Advisory Committee of AEC, Chairman, 1952-56. Advised against developing H-Bomb.
1953, leading role in organizing International Conference on Peaceful Use of Atomic Energy.
1954, testified for Oppenheimer in Security Risk Hearings
1957, Chairman, Presidents Scientific Advisory Committee (Eisenhower)

A true experimentalist whose principal influence was Otto Stern.  His most productive period 1930-40 led to establishment of a molecular beam lab at Columbia for the study of the magnetic properties of atomic nuclei and the development of the magnetic resonance equipment to improve the accuracy of measurements.  After WWII and his Nobel Prize, he became less a scientist and more a statesman and spokesman for the peaceful use of atomic energy.

1967, Retired, Columbia U. but kept his office at Columbia until his death












1/11/88, Died, New York City  (90)

Wolfgang E. Pauli* (1900-1958)

Father: Wolfgang Joseph Pacheles (b. 1869), (later changed to Pauli in 1898) received M.D., U. Prague and practiced in Vienna before leaving medicine for chemistry to eventually become full professor at U. Vienna where he became a major pioneering figure in colloid chemistry. Changed religious faiths from Jewish to Catholic in 1899 when he married daughter of editor of influential Vienna newspaper.

4/25/1900, Born, Vienna, Austria, oldest of two children.  Recognized as an infant prodigy.  Early schooling was in Vienna where he took his secondary education at the Dublingen Gymnasium excelling in math and physic and independently studied relativity.  Graduated, 1918 with distinction.  Submitted first paper on relativity before entering college.  Shortly thereafter, submitted two more papers on same subject

1918-21, U. Munich (Sommerfeld)
Published 237-page comprehensive monograph on relativity as student.  Began study of quantum physics, which was to be his lifelong work.
1921, U. Gottingen, Assistant to Born
1922, U. Hamburg, Assistant
1923, Copenhagen (Bohr)
1923-28, U. Hamburg, Privatdozent

1925, Ph.D., U. Munich (Sommerfeld)

1/1926, Paper on Exclusion Principle



1929-40, ETH, Zurich, Full Professor
1930, Developed Neutrino Hypothesis









 1940-45, Institute of Advanced Studies, Princeton
When the Nazis invaded Austria, being Austrian Pauli became concerned and left Zurich since the Swiss had refused him citizenship several times.


1945, Nobel Prize, “Exclusion Principle &
 Neutrino Hypothesis”
1946-58, ETH, Zurich, Chair, Theoretical Physics
After considering several attractive positions in the U.S. Pauli decided to return to the ETH provided citizenship would be granted and he would chair the department
1949-50, Institute for Advanced Studies (one year)



12/15/58, Died, Zurich, Pancreatic Cancer (58)


Pauli was a brilliant theoretical and mathematical physicist whose presence near a physical experiment would doom it to failure.  He was known by his colleagues as the conscience of 20th century physics resulting not only from his brilliant work but from his critical judgments of others work.  In addition, he possessed a caustic sense of humor and criticism. Upon Einstein’s death, Pauli was granted his mantle of influence.