Frederick Seitz

Radiation effects in solids

As far as I am aware, this is the first invited session of the American Physical Society devoted to the topic of radiation effects in solids—a field that has been an active one for nearly a decade. I believe it is safe to say that it will not be the last such session. The long delay in this event arises, of course, from the fact that the field received its greatest stimulus from the wartime research in the field of atomic energy so that many aspects of it were classified at the start and will remain classified indefinitely in the future.

Research on Silicon and Germanium in World War II

A relatively large and well‐funded group of investigators did intense research on the electrical properties of silicon and germanium during World War II. Their work completely transformed attitudes toward the physical properties of the pure crystalline forms of the semiconductors: No longer regarded merely as exotic materials, these elements became components of flexibly useful circuit elements that could be manipulated to show various properties by the addition of small amounts of other elements. In this sense, the wartime research laid the groundwork for the invention of the transistor shortly after the war and ultimately the development of the integrated circuit. The work opened up a now age of electronics.

The Basic Principles of Semi‐Conductors

A review is given of typical deviations from ordinary valence rules by alloys and inorganic compounds. The effect on the electrical properties of a compound of a deviation from stoichiometric proportions is discussed. The value of the information obtained from electrical measurements is illustrated by a discussion of the properties of several semi‐conducting compounds.

On the Frontier: My Life in Science

Contents: 1. Early Years. 2. Elementary School. 3. High School. 4. Undergraduate college. 5. Princeton Years. 6. University of Rochester. 7. General Electric Laboratory. 8. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh World War II. 9. Applied research 1939-1945. 10. Post-war Carnegie Institute of Technology. 11. The University of Illinois, 1949-1965. 12. The NATO Science Office, 1959-1960. 13. The National Academy of Sciences, 1962 -1969. 14. The Rockefeller University, 1968-1978. 15. 1978 and Beyond. 16. Reflections.

Physics and Metallurgy

The role played by modern physics in advancing the scientific background of metallurgy, and its present position, is described in this paper, which is the text of the first Gordon McKay Lecture on Applied Science, delivered at Harvard University in 1947.

Factors concerning education for science and engineering

Our nation is now passing through one of the gravest periods in its history. The fate of many the most precious things in the heritage of modern man will depend upon our ability to surmount the present crisis. Apart from the physical well‐being of those now living, many matters of profound cultural value which we have inherited through the intellectual enlightenment of the Greeks and the religious genius of the peoples of Asia Minor are at stake.

Perspectives in materials research

Modern technology places ever‐increasing demands on the materials it needs, whether the use be for systems as prosaic as brick and mortar or housing insulation or as sophisticated as electronic components or reactor constituents. In their quest to meet these demands, the scientist and engineer are constrained by limitations imposed by nature: miracles usually are earned. It follows that the individuals concerned with developing materials must not only explore nature to the fullest in the spirit customarily associated with science, in order to possess the maximum of useful knowledge, but must also be willing to make ingenious but practical compromises with nature in the spirit of a good engineer. Ultimately, progress in the field rests upon cooperation between the scientist and the engineer.

Eugene Wigner—a tribute on his seventieth birthday

It was in 1930 that Eugene Wigner joined the staff of Princeton on a halftime basis, at the age of 27, sharing a professorship with John von Neumann. Both were members of that remarkably illustrious group of students who had emerged almost as a team in Budapest and then accepted employment in Germany in the last great days of German science. Leo Szilard once confided to me that the group was really not composed of Hungarians but of Martians in disguise.

IUPAP–Past and future

Although “everyone” has heard of IUPAP, many of us are unaware of what it is (a membership organization? an organization of other organizations?), what it does, and how it is financed (does the money come out of our American Physical Society or Optical Society dues? out of our taxes?).

Aims, prospects, and repercussions of high‐energy physics

This gathering, not an ordinary session concerned with scientific research, is devoted to appraising and evaluating the general spirit of high‐energy physics. We hope to bring to the surface the reason it is an important field of science—the reason it should continue to receive support in something like the exponentially growing rate that it has in the past.