Polykarp Kusch

Polykarp Kusch
Kusch in 1955
Born	(1911-01-26)January 26, 1911 Blankenburg, Duchy of Brunswick, German Empire
Died	March 20, 1993(1993-03-20) (aged 82) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Illinois Case Western Reserve University
Known for	Measuring the magnetic moment of the electron
Awards	Nobel Prize in Physics (1955)
Scientific career
Fields	Physics
Institutions	University of Texas at Dallas Columbia University
Thesis	The molecular spectra of caesium and rubidium (1936)
Doctoral advisor	Francis Wheeler Loomis
Doctoral students	Eugene D. Commins Gordon Gould Sheldon Schultz

Polykarp Kusch (German: [ˈpoːliˌkaʁp ˈkuʃ]; January 26, 1911 – March 20, 1993) was a German–American physicist who shared the 1955 Nobel Prize in Physics with Willis Eugene Lamb for his accurate determination that the electron magnetic moment was greater than its theoretical value,^[1] thus leading to reconsideration of and innovations in quantum electrodynamics.

Polykarp Kusch was born on January 26, 1911, in Blankenburg, Germany, the son of John Mathias Kusch, a Lutheran missionary, and Henrietta van der Haas. In 1912, Kusch and his family emigrated to the United States, where he naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1922.^[2]

After graduating from grade school in the Midwest, Kusch attended Case Institute of Technology (CIT) in Cleveland, Ohio (now Case Western Reserve University), where he majored in physics. After graduating from CIT with a B.S. in 1931, Kusch entered the University of Illinois, from which he received his M.S. in 1933. He continued his education at the same alma mater, studying under Francis Wheeler Loomis. For his work in the field of optical molecular spectroscopy, he received his Ph.D. in 1936.^[3]

In 1937, Kusch moved to Columbia University, where he spent much of his career as a professor and served as its provost for one year in 1970–1971. He worked on molecular beam resonance studies under I. I. Rabi, then discovered the electron anomalous magnetic moment. Many measurements of magnetic moments and hyperfine structure followed. He expanded into chemical physics and continued to publish research on molecular beams. In 1972, he left Columbia to become a professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, remaining there until his retirement in 1982.^[2]

In 1935, Kusch married Edith Starr McRoberts, with whom he had three daughters. Edith died in 1959, and the following year he married Betty Pezzoni. They had two daughters.^[2] Kusch House, a residential dormitory for undergraduate students at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio on the South Campus, is named after Kusch. It is located on Carlton Road in Cleveland Heights. The University of Texas at Dallas has a Polykarp Kusch Auditorium with a plaque.

Kusch died on March 20, 1993, in Dallas at the age of 82.

Year	Organization	Type	Ref.
1940	American Physical Society	Fellow	[4]
1956	National Academy of Sciences	Emeritus	[5]
1959	American Academy of Arts and Sciences	Member	[6]
1967	American Philosophical Society	Member	[7]

Year	Organization	Award	Citation	Ref.
1955	Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences	Nobel Prize in Physics[a]	"For his precision determination of the magnetic moment of the electron."	[1]

• Rabi, I. I.; Zacharias, J. R.; Millman, S.; Kusch, P. (1938). "A New Method of Measuring Nuclear Magnetic Moment". Physical Review. 53 (4): 318. Bibcode:1938PhRv...53..318R. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.53.318.
• Rabi, I. I.; Millman, S.; Kusch, P.; Zacharias, J. R. (1939). "The Molecular Beam Resonance Method for Measuring Nuclear Magnetic Moments. The Magnetic Moments of 3Li6, 3Li7 and 9F19". Physical Review. 55 (6): 526–535. Bibcode:1939PhRv...55..526R. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.55.526.
• Rabi, I. I.; Zacharias, J. R.; Millman, S.; Kusch, P. (1992). "Milestones in Magnetic Resonance: 'A new method of measuring nuclear magnetic moment'. 1938". Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2 (2): 131–133. doi:10.1002/jmri.1880020203. PMID 1562763. S2CID 73238886.
• Kusch, P.; Foley, H. M. (1948). "The Magnetic Moment of the Electron". Physical Review. 74 (3): 250–263. Bibcode:1948PhRv...74..250R. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.74.250. PMID 17820251.

• List of Case Western Reserve University people

• Media related to Polykarp Kusch at Wikimedia Commons
• Polykarp Kusch on Nobelprize.org including his Nobel Lecture, December 12, 1955 The Magnetic Moment of the Electron
• Browne, Malcolm W. (March 23, 1993). "Polykarp Kusch, Nobel Laureate In Physics in 1955, Is Dead at 82". The New York Times.

• Haskell A. Reich collection of student notes, circa 1945-1954, Niels Bohr Library & Archives (includes lecture notes from Polykarp Kusch's courses at Columbia University)