Horace Richard Crane (November 4, 1907 – April 19, 2007) was an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, the inventor of the Race Track Synchrotron, a recipient of President Ronald Reagan's

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

"for the first measurement of the magnetic moment and spin of free

electrons The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no ...

and

positrons The positron or antielectron is the antiparticle or the antimatter counterpart of the electron. It has an electric charge of +1 '' e'', a spin of 1/2 (the same as the electron), and the same mass as an electron. When a positron collides w ...

".The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details;HORACE R. CRANE;Professor of Physics
/ref> He was also noted for proving the existence of

neutrinos A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is a fermion (an elementary particle with spin of ) that interacts only via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is ...

. The National Academy of Sciences called Crane "an extraordinary physicist".National Academy of Sciences;Biographical Memoir;H. Richard Crane by Jens C. Zorn
/ref> The

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

called him "one of the most distinguished experimental physicists of the 20th century".University of Michigan News Service;May 16 2007;H. Richard Crane
/ref> Crane was a chairman of the department of physics
/ref> and a professor of physics at the

, a member of the National Academy of Sciences.The Physics Teacher;Remembering Dick Crane;E. Leonard Jossem
/ref> Crane earned his Ph.D. in 1934 under Charles Lauritsen at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he worked on radar at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

and proximity fuses at the

Carnegie Institution of Washington The Carnegie Institution of Washington (the organization's legal name), known also for public purposes as the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), is an organization in the United States established to fund and perform scientific research. Th ...

and the University of Michigan. He consulted for the National Defense Research Commission and the

Office of Scientific Research and Development The Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) was an agency of the United States federal government created to coordinate scientific research for military purposes during World War II. Arrangements were made for its creation during May 1 ...

.Jones, L., et al. (2010). "Innovation Was Not Enough: A History of the Midwestern Universities Research Association (MURA)." World Scientific Publishing. http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/6937 From 1957 to 1960, Crane was president of the

Midwestern Universities Research Association The Midwestern Universities Research Association (MURA) was a collaboration between 15 universities with the goal of designing and building a particle accelerator for the Midwestern United States. It existed between 1953–1967, but could not achiev ...

. In addition, he was president of the

American Association of Physics Teachers The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) was founded in 1930 for the purpose of "dissemination of knowledge of physics, particularly by way of teaching." There are more than 10,000 members in over 30 countries. AAPT publications includ ...

in 1965, and on the board of governors of the

American Institute of Physics The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...

from 1964 to 1975. Crane was a supporter of higher education all his life. He and his wife donated money and time to Washtenaw Community College, in Ann Arbor Township, Michigan, with a building being named after them. Their effort was to encourage making higher education accessible to all the residents in the county, and their efforts are documented on the campus itself.

Life and career

* 1907: Born in

Turlock, California Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its estimated 2019 population of 73,631 made it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by prominent grain farmer Jo ...

on November 4 * 1930: BS,

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

* 1934: PhD in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

* 1934–1935:

, Research Fellow in Physics * 1935–1938:

, Instructor and Research Physicist * 1938–1946:

, Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Physics * 1946–1978:

, Professor of Physics * 1978–2007:

, Emeritus Professor of Physics

References

External links

Oral history interview transcript with H. Richard Crane on 28 March 1973, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- Session I
Oral history interview transcript with H. Richard Crane on 18 June 1974, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- Session II
Oral history interview transcript with H. Richard Crane on 29 June 1990, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crane, H. Richard 1907 births 2007 deaths People from Turlock, California 20th-century American physicists California Institute of Technology faculty University of Michigan faculty California Institute of Technology alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Physical Society