Albert Potter Wills (1873–1937) was an American physicist who researched magnetic materials and was the PhD advisor of the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winner

Isidor Isaac Rabi Israel Isidor Isaac Rabi (; ; July 29, 1898 – January 11, 1988) was an American nuclear physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1944 for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance, which is used in magnetic resonance imaging. H ...

. During his career he investigated magnetic susceptibilities, magnetic shielding,

magnetostriction Magnetostriction is a property of magnetic materials that causes them to change their shape or dimensions during the process of magnetization. The variation of materials' magnetization due to the applied magnetic field changes the magnetostrictive ...

, conduction of electricity through mercury vapor, and

hydrodynamics In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in ...

. He also wrote a textbook on

vector analysis Vector calculus or vector analysis is a branch of mathematics concerned with the differentiation and integration of vector fields, primarily in three-dimensional Euclidean space, \mathbb^3. The term ''vector calculus'' is sometimes used as a ...

. Wills received his PhD from

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

in 1897 under Arthur Gordon Webster with a thesis entitled: ''On the susceptibility of diamagnetic and weakly magnetic substances.'' During 1898–1899 Wills worked at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

and the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. During 1899–1902 he was at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

and 1902–1903 at the Cooper Hewitt Laboratory. His final appointment, 1903–1937, was at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. In 1909 at Columbia University,

Max Planck Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (; ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quantum, quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Planck made many substantial con ...

gave eight lectures in German. Wills translated the lectures into English, and in 1915 Columbia University Press published his translation.

References

Sources

* J. C. Poggendorff, ''Biographisch-literarisches Handwörterbuch für Mathematik, Astronomie, Physik, Chemie und verwandte Wissenschaftsgebiete;'' P. Weinmeister, P., Ed.; Verlag-Chemie: Berlin, 1904; Bd. IV, p. 1644. * ''American Men of Science'', 2nd ed.; Cattell, J.M., Eds.; Science Press: Lancaster, PA, 1910; pp. 515. * "Prof. Albert Wills is dead in Florida," ''The New York Times'', Apr 18, 1937, p. 48 (or II 8), col. 4. * National Cyclopaedia of American Biography being the history of the United States. New York: James T White & Co, 1939; Vol 27, pp. 430–431. * A.P. Wills, "On the susceptibility of diamagnetic and weakly magnetic substances," PhD Thesis, Clark University, Worcester, MA, 1897. (Also appeared in ''Phil. Mag.'' 1898, 45, pp.432–447). * I.I. Rabi, ''Phys. Rev.'' 1927, 29(1), pp. 174–185

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Albert Potter American physicists 1873 births 1937 deaths Clark University alumni Bryn Mawr College faculty Columbia University faculty