- Henryk Niewodniczański
Henryk Niewodniczański (born 10 December 1900,
Vilnius - 20 December 1968,Cracow ) was a Polishphysicist , professor at theJagiellonian University and the creator and director of the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Cracow.He graduated from the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius (then in Poland) in 1924 and in 1926 years received his PhD from the same university. In 1927 he was awarded a fellowship at
Tübingen University .At that time his main field of interest was optics of metals and molecular optics. By studying the influence of the magnetic field on the fluorescence of mercury vapour he discovered magnetic dipole radiation.In 1934 as a fellow ofRockefeller Foundation Niewodniczański worked in theRoyal Society Mond Laboratory and in theCavendish Laboratory inCambridge .On his return to Poland in 1937 Niewodniczański worked first at the
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and later in Vilnius where he was the Chair of Experimental Physics at the Stefan Batory University. After the war he obtained the Chair of Experimental Physics at the Jagellonian University in Cracow.His interest in
atomic optics andnuclear physics led him to a flourishing development of these branches of physics in Cracow. Niewodniczański was also an excellent organizer. In 1955 he created the Institute of Nuclear Physics, with a Soviet-made U-120cyclotron as the main research tool.As the director of the Institute of Nuclear Physics and of the Institute of Physics of the Jagiellonian University, Niewodniczański was the initiator of the majority of the research carried out in these two institutes. He assembled a group of young scientists who, undaunted by difficult conditions, built with him the necessary equipment and under his inspiration began research works.
In 1988, twenty years after his death, the Institute of Nuclear Physics he created was renamed "The Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics".
References
* [http://www.ifj.edu.pl/intro/h_niewodniczanski/?lang=en Biography at the Institute of Nuclear Physics website]
* [http://chall.ifj.edu.pl/Niewodn.html Another biography]
* "Henryk Niewodniczański" entry in cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Encyklopedia Krakowa |year= 2001|publisher= PWN |location=Cracow |isbn=External links
* [http://www.ifj.edu.pl/?lang=en The Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics] in Cracow
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