Person

Isaak, George Richard (1933 - 2005)

Born
1933
Poland
Died
5 June 2005
Birmingham, England
Occupation
Physical chemist

Summary

George Richard Isaak was an Adjunct Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota, USA from 1996 until his death. Prior to this he had spent close to thirty years at the University of Birmingham in England. It was there that Isaak began his groundbreaking research into the pressure, temperature, density and oscillations of the Sun. He achieved this by pioneering the technology of high resolution scanning / resonant-scattering spectroscopy: in 1959 Isaak discovered that very narrow spectra could be resolved and analysed by absorbing a narrow slit from a resonantly scattered beam of light in a vapour chamber and shifting the spectrum of the vapour by an electric or magnetic field.

Details

After surviving the war, George Richard Isaak migrated to Australia as a refugee. He took up studies at the University of Melbourne where he eventually received a Masters qualification (1958). He spent the next two years working as a physical chemist at ICI Australia then moved to England to undertake a Doctor of Philosophy and work as a Research Associate at the University of Birmingham. Isaak remained at the University until his 1996 retirement at the level of Professor. He headed the University's High Resolution Optical Spectroscopy Group for many years. This was the first group of its kind to operate a world-spanning network of observation sites which still operates today under the name of the BiSON network.

Almost immediately after his retirement, Isaak moved to the USA and was appointed Adjunct Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota and continued to make and record solar and stellar observations. Isaak had an illustrious career making major breakthroughs in his field of physics and astronomy. He received many prestigious awards including the Hughes Medal from the Royal Society and authored over 150 papers on solar and stellar seismology.

Chronology

c. 1945
Life event - Migrated to Australia as a refugee with his family
1955
Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc) completed at the University of Melbourne
1958
Education - Master of Science (MSc) completed at the University of Melbourne
1959 - 1960
Career position - Physical Chemist at ICI Australia
1961 - 1969
Career position - Research Associate then Lecturer in Physics at the University of Birmingham, UK
1966
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) completed at the University of Birmingham
1969 - 1982
Career position - Senior Lecturer in Physics at the University of Birmingham
1979
Career position - First detection of the solar five-minute oscillation ever recorded
1982 - 1984
Career position - Reader in Physics at the University of Birmingham
1984 - 1996
Career position - Professor of Physics at the University of Birmingham
1985
Award - Max Born Medal and Prize received from the Institute of Physics and the German Physical Society
1993
Award - Hughes Medal received from the Royal Society (London)
1996 -
Career position - Adjunct Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota, USA
1996
Award - Herschel Medal received from the Royal Astronomical Society

Published resources

Resources

See also

Rosanne Walker

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