Leon M. Lederman, Nobel Laureate and Former Illinois Tech Faculty Member, Dies at 96

Date

Former Illinois Institute of Technology Pritzker Professor of Physics Leon M. Lederman, who died on October 3 at the age of 96, is being remembered for notable global accomplishments in subatomic science, including his idea for a United States national accelerator laboratory, which later became Fermilab, and his 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics for breakthrough discoveries in neutrino research (along with colleagues Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger). But perhaps Lederman would be most proud of his efforts to promote general public science literacy and enkindle a passion for science among youth.

 


Leon M. Lederman at a National Science Foundation event to promote the movie "Angels & Demons." [photo credit: Reidar Hahn, Fermilab]


Asked to present the 2007 Henry Townley Heald Award at a celebratory event to then Illinois Tech President Lew Collens for his transformational work at the university, Lederman, himself a Heald Award recipient, took the opportunity to speak about his own passion and the contributions of Illinois Tech.