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Arthur von Hippel: The Scientist and the Man

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2011

Frank N. von Hippel
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Abstract

“We will not be intimidated!” is one of the mottos Arthur R. von Hippel lived by. From refusing to salute Hitler to starting a unique interdisciplinary university laboratory–the Laboratory for Insulation Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology–von Hippel followed his principles, laying the foundations for modern materials research and distinguishing himself as a pioneering scientist, an inspirational mentor, and a devoted family man. This article shows the personal and professional contexts within which von Hippel–the namesake of the Materials Research Society's highest award–emerged as a scientific leader and role model of interdisciplinarity, as seen through the eyes of his son, Frank N. von Hippel, physicist, professor of public and international affairs, and co-director of the Program on Science & Global Security at Princeton University.

Keywords

Arthur R. von HippeldielectricsinterdisciplinaryMassachusetts Institute of Technologymaterials engineeringmaterials researchMIT

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References

Notes and References

1Franck, James, who was Jewish, resigned his position as professor (a government appointment in Germany) when Hitler came to power but did not leave Germany until he had been able to place his Jewish assistants and von Hippel, who had married his daughter, Dagmar, safely abroad. Both Franck and Niels Bohr joined the secret U.S. nuclear weapons development program during World War II and separately tried to influence U.S. policy in a direction that they hoped would prevent a postwar nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. Von Hippel's book Dielectrics and Waves was dedicated to Franck and Bohr, and his first U.S.-born child, the author of this article, was named after them.Google Scholar
2Hippel, A.R. von, Materials Design and Molecular Understanding: A Scientific Autobiography (© 1980 Arthur R. von Hippel), http:// vonhippel.mrs.org/ (accessed October 2005).Google Scholar
3Hippel, A.R. von, Life in Times of Turbulent Transitions (© 1988 Hippel, Arthur R. von), http:// vonhippel.mrs.org/ (accessed October 2005).Google Scholar
4Hippel, A.R. von, ed., The Molecular Designing of Materials and Devices1 (MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1965) p. 1.Google Scholar
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6Kemp, M., Nature 435 (2005) p. 888.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7A series of novels by James Fenimore Cooper named after their hero, Natty Bumppo, who also was known as “Leatherstocking” and “Hawkeye”: The Pioneers (1823), The Last of the Mohicans (1826), The Prairie (1827), The Pathfinder (1840), and The Deerslayer (1841).Google Scholar
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9Von Hippel's father, Robert, is still well known in German jurisprudence as a pioneer in introducing the idea that prisons should be used for reforming as well as punishing criminals. His uncle, Eugen von Hippel, was co-discoverer of von Hippel–Lindau disease.Google Scholar
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15“[I]n the early 1950s, manufacturers of transistors were having problems in producing pure crystals of germanium and silicon. It was at this time (1952) that von Hippel brought Alexander Smakula … into LIR. Smakula … contributed to solving the problem. (Incidentally, Smakula had been the inventor of the antireflection coating for optical lenses so widely used today in camera lenses.).” Wildes, K.L. and Lindgren, N.A., eds., A Century of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, 1882–1982 (MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1986) p. 172.Google Scholar
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17“Two books written by Professor von Hippel were translated and published in the Soviet Union shortly after the Second World War. These excellent books were popular among students in their final years, postgraduate students, and specialists in the fields of electrical engineering, physics, and dielectric materials.” Shuvalov, Lev A., “A Tribute to Professor Arthur von Hippel,” Ferroelectrics 135 (1992) p. 19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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21“In Memoriam: Arthur Robert von Hippel (1898–2003)” Web site, http://vonhippel.mrs. org/ (accessed October 2005).Google Scholar
22Hippel, A.R. von, ed., Molecular Science and Molecular Engineering (Technology Press of MIT and John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1959) p. 273.Google Scholar