Robert B. Leighton
Robert B. Leighton | |
|---|---|
Leighton in the Caltech Synchrotron Building, working on the first of the 10.4 meter radio telescope dishes in 1974 | |
| Born | September 10, 1919 |
| Died | March 9, 1997 (aged 77) |
| Alma mater | California Institute of Technology (BS,MS,PhD) |
| Known for | Leighton solar dynamo model Leighton Radio Telescopes Two-Micron Sky Survey The Feynman Lectures on Physics |
| Children | Ralph Leighton |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Experimental physics |
| Institutions | California Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | The vibrational spectrum of a mon-atomic face-centered cubic crystal lattice (1947) |
| Doctoral advisor | William V. Houston Paul Sophus Epstein |
Robert Benjamin Leighton (/ˈleɪtən/ LAY-tən; September 10, 1919 – March 9, 1997) was a prominent American experimental physicist who spent his professional career at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). His work over the years spanned solid state physics, cosmic ray physics, the beginnings of modern particle physics, solar physics, the planets, infrared astronomy, and millimeter- and submillimeter-wave astronomy. In the latter four fields, his pioneering work opened up entirely new areas of research that subsequently developed into vigorous scientific communities.