Leon M. Lederman , Ph.D.
Pritzker Professor of Physics1988 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Fermilab Director Emeritus
Phone: 630.907.5911
Fax: 630.907.5913
Email: lederman@fnal.gov
Web: click here
Expertise
Education
- B.S. City College of New York
- Ph.D. Columbia University
Curriculum Vitae
Research & Major Accomplishments
During a remarkable career spanning more than five decades, Prof. Lederman's research has ranged the gamut of subatomic-particle physics from meson studies through pioneering experiments with neutrino beams to the discovery of the third generation of quarks. He shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics (with Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger) for the 1962 discovery that there are two kinds of neutrino, one associated with the electron and another with the muon. He has received numerous other awards and honorary degrees as well. He continues his participation in research as a member of the IIT High Energy Physics group.
In recent years much of his attention has been devoted to improving science and mathematics education. He was instrumental in founding the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, and he co-founded the Teachers Academy for Mathematics and Science, which during its twelve years of operation taught Chicago primary-school teachers improved ways to teach science. It was copied in France (thanks largely to the efforts of Georges Charpak) and spread to many countries including China, Egypt, and Brazil. He now co-chairs a Congressionally mandated national Commission on 21st Century Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, run by the National Science Board.
He is the author of several books, including From Quarks to the Cosmos (with David Schramm), Symmetry and the Beautiful Universe (with Christopher Hill), and perhaps the most entertaining book yet written about High Energy Physics, The God Particle, now available from Dell Paperbacks.
Current Projects
Awards/Honors
Patents
Books
Selected Publications
- "Comparison of Different Commercial Wireless Keypad Systems," Ray A. Burnstein and Leon M. Lederman, The Physics Teacher, Vol. 41 No. 5, p. 272 (May 2003)
- ”Revolution in Science Education: Put Physics First," Leon Lederman, Physics Today, Vol. 54 No. 9, p. 44 (September 2001)
- ”Using Wireless Keypads in Lecture Classes," Ray A. Burnstein and Leon M. Lederman, The Physics Teacher, Vol. 39 No. 1, p. 8 (January 2001)
- "Nuclear Dependence of Neutral D-Meson Production by 800 GeV/c Protons," M. J. Leitch et al., Physical Review Letters, 72, 2542 (1994)
- "Observation of High-Energy Neutrino Reactions and the Existence of Two Kinds of Neutrinos," G. Danby, J. M. Gaillard, K. Goulianos, L. M. Lederman, N. B. Mistry, M. Schwartz, J. Steinberger, Physical Review Letters 9, 36 (1962)
