Chaim L. Pekeris

Chaim Leib Pekeris
Born	June 15, 1908(1908-06-15) Alytus, Lithuania
Died	February 24, 1993(1993-02-24) (aged 84) Rehovot, Israel
Nationality	American/Israeli
Fields	Geophysics
Institutions	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Columbia University Institute for Advanced Study Weizmann Institute of Science
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Known for	surface waves, stability of pipe flow
Notable awards	Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1980) Israel Prize (1980)

Chaim Leib Pekeris (June 15, 1908 – February 24, 1993)^[1] was an Israeli-American physicist and mathematician. He made notable contributions to geophysics and the spectral theory of many-electron atoms, in particular the Helium atom. He was also one of the designers of the first computer in Israel, WEIZAC.

Biography

Pekeris was bon in Alytus, Lithuania. With the assistance of his uncle, Pekeris and his two brothers emigrated to the United States around 1925. He entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1925 graduating in 1929 with a B.Sc. in meteorology. He received his Sc.D. from M.I.T. in 1933.^[2]

In 1934 Pekeris joined the faculty at M.I.T. as an instructor in geophysics in the Department of Geology. He became a US citizen in 1938.^[3] Pekeris remained at M.I.T until 1941 when he moved to the Hudson Laboratories of Columbia University to conduct military research. In 1946 he joined the Institute for Advanced Study. Teddy Kollek said "Let me simply say that Chaim Pekeris played a most significant role in the establishment of the State of Israel."^[2] Pekeris moved to Israel in 1948 and joined the Weizmann Institute as head of its Department of Applied Mathematics in 1949.^[4]

He died in Rehovot, Israel on February 24, 1993.

Awards and honors

• Rockefeller Fellow (1934)
• Guggenheim Fellowship (1946)^[5]
• Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1972)
• Vetlesen Prize (1974)
• Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1980)
• Israel Prize, for physics (1980).^[6]

See also

• List of Israel Prize recipients
• List of geophysicists

References

1. ^ "Chaim L. Pekeris". Social Security Death Index. New England Historic Genealogical Society. http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx?recordId=83472721. Retrieved 17 March 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Gilbert, Freeman (2004). "Chaim Leib Pekeris (June 15, 1908–February 24, 1993)". Biographical Memoirs V.85. National Academy of Sciences. pp. 217–228. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11172&page=217. Retrieved 25 March 2011. 
3. ^ "U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995". Index to Naturalization Petitions and Records of the U.S. District Court, 1906-1966, and the U.S. Circuit Court, 1906-1911, for the District of Massachusetts. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?ti=0&indiv=try&db=usnaturalizationindexes&h=338116. Retrieved 25 March 2011. 
4. ^ The Vetlesen Prize
5. ^ "Chaim Leib Pekeris: Fellowship". Guggenheim Foundation. http://www.gf.org/fellows/results?query=Pekeris&lower_bound=1925&upper_bound=2011&competition=ALL&fellowship_category=ALL&x=14&y=14. Retrieved 25 March 2011. 
6. ^ "Israel Prize Official Site - Recipients in 1980 (in Hebrew)". http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashlag/Tashmab_Tashlag_Rikuz.htm?DictionaryKey=Tasham. 

External links

• Biographical memoir by Freeman Gilbert

Persondata
Name	Pekeris, Chaim Leib
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 15, 1908
Place of birth	Alytus, Lithuania
Date of death	February 24, 1993
Place of death	Rehovot, Israel