Walter Kohn
Walter Kohn
#### Full Name and Common Aliases
Walter Kohn is often referred to as a Nobel laureate in chemistry. His full name was Walter A. Kohn.
#### Birth and Death Dates
Born on March 18, 1923, in Vienna, Austria. He passed away on October 19, 2016, at the age of 93.
#### Nationality and Profession(s)
Kohn held dual citizenship of Austria and the United States. His profession was that of a theoretical chemist and physicist.
#### Early Life and Background
Walter Kohn grew up in Vienna during a tumultuous period. After graduating from high school in 1941, he attended the University of Vienna but soon found himself studying at night due to curfews imposed by the Nazi regime. The war led him to flee Austria in 1939. In 1947, he earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.
#### Major Accomplishments
Kohn's work significantly advanced our understanding of electronic structure and chemical bonding. His most notable contribution was developing the density functional theory (DFT), a method that makes it possible to calculate the properties of molecules with high accuracy without having to solve the Schrödinger equation directly for all electrons.
#### Notable Works or Actions
Kohn's work on DFT laid the groundwork for many subsequent studies and applications in various fields, including chemistry, physics, materials science, and engineering. He also made important contributions to understanding chemical bonding through his work on the concept of chemical softness and hardness.
#### Impact and Legacy
Walter Kohn's theoretical work has had a profound impact on modern chemistry and physics research. His development of DFT allowed for more efficient calculations of molecular properties and led to breakthroughs in fields such as materials science and nanotechnology. He was recognized with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1998, along with John A. Pople.
#### Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Kohn's work remains widely quoted due to its foundational role in modern chemistry and physics research. His development of DFT has facilitated numerous advances in our understanding of molecular properties and behavior. As a result, his legacy extends beyond the academic community, influencing technological innovations across various industries.
Walter Kohn's life is an inspiring example of perseverance and intellectual curiosity. Born during one of history's most turbulent periods, he went on to make significant contributions that continue to shape our understanding of the world around us.
Quotes by Walter Kohn
I have just joined the Board of the Population Institute because I am convinced that early stabilization of the world’s population is important for the attainment of this objective.
On another level, I want to mention that I have a strong Jewish identity and – over the years – have been involved in several Jewish projects, such as the establishment of a strong program of Judaic Studies at the University of California in San Diego.
I am very much a scientist, and so I naturally have thought about religion also through the eyes of a scientist. When I do that, I see religion not denominationally, but in a more, let us say, deistic sense. I have been influence in my thinking by the writing of Einstein who has made remarks to the effect that when he contemplated the world he sensed an underlying Force much greater than any human force. I feel very much the same. There is a sense of awe, a sense of reverence, and a sense of great mystery.
For the summer of 1949, I got a job in the Polaroid laboratory in Cambridge, Mass., just before the Polaroid camera made its public appearance.
In particular, I established a reasonably accurate energy threshold for permanent displacement of a nucleus from its regular lattice position, substantially smaller than had been previously presumed.
I have just joined the Board of the Population Institute because I am convinced that early stabilization of the world's population is important for the attainment of this objective.
On another level, I want to mention that I have a strong Jewish identity and - over the years - have been involved in several Jewish projects, such as the establishment of a strong program of Judaic Studies at the University of California in San Diego.
My project was radiation damage of Si and Ge by energetic electrons, critical for the use of the recently developed semiconductor devices for applications in outer space.
During one or two summers, as well as part-time during the school year, I worked for a small Canadian company which developed electrical instruments for military planes.
Originally I had planned to revert to nuclear physics there, in particular the structure of the deuteron.