Mathwar/Personlist/von Hippel Arthur
Arthur von Hippel
(* November 19th 1898, † December 31st 2003)
Von Hippel was a pioneer in the study of dielectrics, ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials, and semiconductors and was a codeveloper of radar during World War II.
Life
In 1933, with the ascension of Nazis to power in Germany, von Hippel decided to move to another country, mainly because his wife was Jewish, but due also to his political stance against the new regime. Fortunately in 1934 he was able to secure a position with the University at Istanbul, Turkey, then spent a year in Denmark, working at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. In 1936, accepting an invitation by Karl Compton, von Hippel moved again, this time to the U.S., and became an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1940 he founded the Laboratory for Insulation Research, which soon became one of the most important research and education centers in this area in the world.