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National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Roy Glauber was born on September 1, 1925 in New York, New York. As a child, he was fascinated by physics and optics. He attended Harvard University, but left after his sophomore year to join the Manhattan Project. He was only 18 years old at the time, making him one of the youngest scientists working on the project.

While working on the project, Glauber met numerous luminaries: Edward Teller, Richard Feynman, Stanislaus Ulam, and John von Neumann. His work focused on critical mass calculations. After the war, Glauber returned to Harvard, where he earned his bachelors degree in 1946 and his PhD in 1949.

He would go on to lead a distinguished academic career. In 2005, Glauber received the Nobel Prize in Physics, for “for his contribution to the quantum theory of optical coherence.”  His work explained and differentiated different kinds of light, and remains central to the field of quantum optics.

Roy Glauber’s Timeline
1925 Sep 1st Born in New York, New York.

1943 Joined the Manhattan Project.

1946 Left the Manhattan Project and returned to Harvard.

1948 Received his Masters Degree at Harvard University.

2005 Won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

2018 Dec 26th Passed away in Newton, Massachusetts.

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