Wolfgang Panofsky, renowned Stanford physicist and arms control advocate, dead at 88

Wolfgang K. H. "Pief" Panofsky, professor of physics at Stanford University and director emeritus of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), died of a heart attack at his home in Los Altos, Calif., Monday, Sept. 24. He was 88 years old.

Panofsky was a renowned particle physics researcher, an accelerator builder and an administrator of basic research. In parallel with his science career, he pursued two other interests of interrelated historical significance: nuclear arms control and international peace and security.

"Pief Panofsky's contributions to SLAC and the field of physics have certainly earned him a place in Stanford's pantheon of scholars. But it is equally important to note that his work on nuclear arms control earned him a reputation not just as a scientist but as a patriot whose life will continue to influence and inspire us for generations to come," said Stanford Provost John Etchemendy.

Panofsky was awarded many honors during his lifetime, most notably the National Medal of Science in 1969 and the U.S. Department of Energy's Enrico Fermi Award in 1979.

Born in Berlin April 24, 1919, the son of famed art historian Erwin Panofsky, he arrived in the United States in 1934 and became a naturalized citizen in 1942. He graduated from Princeton University in 1938, received his PhD in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1942 and served as consultant to the Manhattan Project, helping build the first atomic bomb during World War II.

In 1945 Panofsky began work as a staff physicist at the Radiation Laboratory at the University of California-Berkeley and was named associate professor of physics in 1948. In 1951 he joined Stanford as a full professor, directing its High-Energy Physics Laboratory until 1961. When a major new project to build a 2-mile linear electron accelerator began in 1961, Panofsky assumed its leadership and became the first director of SLAC, a post he held until retiring in 1984.

At Berkeley, Panofsky and physicist Jack Steinberger were the first to isolate the neutral pi meson, one of the subatomic particles predicted by theorists to account for the strong force binding atomic nuclei. While at Stanford, he led a series of experiments that used high-energy electrons and photons to examine the structure and behavior of the proton.

Panofsky was a member of the President's Science Advisory Committee in the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He advised the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Energy on their nuclear weapons and arms control programs. In the 1980s, he was an outspoken critic of the "Star Wars" anti-missile program. After his retirement, he was an active member of the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on International Security and Arms Control, serving as its chairman from 1985 to 1993.

Panofsky was a fellow of the American Physical Society and served as its president in 1974. He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences as well as a foreign member of the Chinese, French, Italian and Russian scientific academies.

"The world has lost a truly great man," added Persis Drell, acting director of SLAC. "Pief's impact on particle physics was enormous, but, in addition, everyone will remember him for his unflinching integrity, personal warmth and desire to fight for the principles he believed in."

Panofsky is survived by his wife, Adele, and five children: Richard, Margaret, Edward, Carol and Steven. Memorial service plans are pending.

SICA grants bring filmmaker Werner Herzog, play Miracle in Rwanda to campus

A play based on the experiences of Immaculée Ilibagiza, who survived the Rwandan genocide by hiding for 91 days with seven other Tutsi women in a tiny bathroom, will come to Stanford in November, thanks to a grant from the Stanford Institute for Creativity and the Arts (SICA).

Satellite images reveal link between urban growth and changing rainfall patterns

For the first time, scientists have used satellite images to demonstrate a link between rapid city growth and rainfall patterns, as well as to assess compliance with an international treaty to protect wetlands. The results have been published in two studies co-authored by Karen Seto, assistant professor of geological and environmental sciences and a fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University.

"The exciting thing is really for the first time, using a time series of satellite images, we can monitor Earth in a way that we haven't been able to," Seto said. "It's not just about urban growth or wetlands—it could be about desertification or deforestation—but it's really just this issue of human modification of the Earth." 

..................the rest you can read in the Stanford-b.com Blog

Stanford News

Dish trail remains closed following Thursday's fire

A roughly 20-acre grass fire near the Dish in the Stanford foothills resulted in the closure of Junipero Serra Boulevard from Stanford Avenue to Campus Drive East for several hours Thursday afternoon.

For safety reasons, electricity was briefly shut off to 2,000 homes in the area because a power line ran through the vicinity of the blaze, Stanford Police Chief Laura Wilson said. No homes were damaged, and no residents were evacuated, Wilson said.

The fire was reported at 1:20 p.m. Thursday, July 5, and was contained within a few hours. Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion, according to Deputy Sheriff Chris Cohendet of the Stanford Department of Public Safety. No other injuries were reported.

The Dish recreation area will remain closed through at least July 15 as officials investigate the cause of the blaze and efforts are made to mitigate the danger of fire in the area.

About 20 fire engines from the Palo Alto Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection responded, and fixed wing aircraft and helicopters dropped fire retardant on the blaze.

 Neue Google Lizenz für automatisierte 3D Erfassung von Gebäuden

 Wie Mercury News berichtet, hat Suchmaschine Google sich die automatisierte 3D Erfassung  von Gebäuden lizensiert.

Die Technologie der neuen Lizenz stammt von der Universität Stanford, welche diese im Jahr 2005 für die erste DARPA Grand Challenge 2005 entwickelt hat. Die neue Technologie ermöglicht es Google, die automatisierte Generierung von 3D Modellen aus zusammengesetztem Bildcontent zu erstellen. Dadurch ist Google in der Lage, sein Online Kartenprogramm Google Earth, mit zusätzlichen Objekten zu versehen, welche nicht den aufwendigen Weg der Erstellung in Google Sketchup gehen müssen (siehe 3D Google Earth Modell von Berlin oder 3D Google Earth Modell von Neubrandenburg).