| 1 | Name: | Dr. Edwin E. Salpeter | |
| Institution: | Cornell University | ||
| Year Elected: | 1977 | ||
| Class: | 1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 106. Physics | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1924 | ||
| Death Date: | November 25, 2008 | ||
A recognized leader in the broad areas between physics, atomic theory and astrophysics, Edwin E. Salpeter is a theoretical physicist and J. G. White Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physical Sciences at Cornell University, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1949. His recent interests include high velocity gas clouds and galaxy clusters and superclusters. Born in Austria in 1924, Dr. Salpeter holds a Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham, where he was also a research fellow in science and industry. In 1951 he explained how the triple-alpha reaction could make carbon from helium in stars, and he then went on to investigate the effects of nuclear physics on stellar evolution, deriving the initial mass function from stellar evolution and the observed abundances of stars of different luminosities. Dr. Salpeter has contributed many articles to scientific journals on problems of atomic physics, quantum electrodynamics, nuclear theory, energy production in stars and theoretical astrophysics and has also been involved in the study of synapses in neurobiology and epidemiology and Meta-analysis in medicine. A former vice president of the American Astronomical Society, Dr. Salpeter is the recipient of awards including the Bruce Medal (1987), the Bethe Prize (1999) and the Crafoord Prize (1997). He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. | |||