Louis B. Slichter

Louis Byrne Slichter (May 19, 1896 – March 25, 1978) was an American physicist and geophysicist who directed the Institute of Geophysics at UCLA.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Louis Byrne Slichter
Born	May 19, 1896 Madison, Wisconsin
Died	March 25, 1978(1978-03-25) (aged 81) Los Angeles, California
Burial place	Forest Hill Cemetery
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison

Slichter was notable for, among other things, earth tides research,^[4] submarine detection,^[4] development of three-component short-period seismographs,^[4] studies of the earth temperature distribution,^[4] and the invention of a number of important geophysical devices.^[4] Slichter Foreland peninsula in Antarctica is named after him.^[5][6] The Institute of Geophysics building in UCLA where he used to work as a director of the Institute has been named Slichter Hall.^[1] He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the chair of the Academy's Geophysics Section.^[2] He was also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,^[2] a fellow of the American Physical Society,^[2] and a fellow of the American Geophysical Union.^[2] The New York Times called Slichter a "widely honored pioneer in the earth sciences".^[1] The National Academy of Sciences called him "one of the foremost geophysicists of the twentieth century, an outstanding leader, scholar, and teacher".^[2] UCLA called him "the world leader in the analysis of the solid earth tides".^[4]

Family

Louis Slichter was the son of the mathematician Charles S. Slichter,^[7] brother of economist Sumner Slichter,^[8] and uncle of physicist Charles P. Slichter. His sister-in-law was the biochemist Mary Van Rensselaer Buell.^[9]

Chronology

• May 19, 1896 born in Madison, Wisconsin
• 1917: BA, University of Wisconsin–Madison^[2][3]
• 1920: AM, University of Wisconsin–Madison^[2][3]
• 1922: PhD in physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison^[2][3][5][7]
• 1932–1945: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor of Geophysics^[2][3]
• 1944: elected to the National Academy of Sciences^[2][3]
• 1945–1947: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Professor of Geophysics^[2][3][7]
• 1946 Presidential Certificate of Merit (1946)^[2][4]
• 1946 Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship^[2][4]
• 1947 Director of the Institute of Geophysics, Professor of Geophysics, UCLA^[1]
• 1959 an honorary life membership in the Society of Exploration Geophysicists^[2]
• 1960 the Jackling Award of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers^[2][4]
• 1960 the chair of Geophysics Section at the National Academy of Sciences^[2]
• 1963-1978 Professor Emeritus, UCLA^[2][3]
• 1966 Dedication of Slichter Hall at UCLA^[4][5]
• 1967 Honorary D.Sc., University of Wisconsin^[2][4][5][7]
• 1966 the William Bowie Medal of the American Geophysical Union^[2][4]
• 1969 Honorary LL.D., UCLA^[2][4][5]
• March 25, 1978 dies Los Angeles Medical Center at UCLA^[7]