Daniel björken
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Remembering theoretical physicist James D. “BJ” Bjorken, 90, who played a crucial role in discovering quarks
August 14,
His wide-ranging curiosity, novel way of looking at problems and sheer joy in solving them drove many important contributions to particle physics.
By Glennda Chui
Theoretical physicist James D. “BJ” Bjorken, a professor emeritus at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University whose work played a key role in revealing the existence of quarks and illuminating the mathematical framework that governs all fundamental interactions, died Aug. 6 in Redwood City, California, at the age of 90 after a brief struggle with metastatic melanoma.
Part of a wave of young physicists who came to Stanford in the mids to explore the most basic secrets of matter with a brand-new technology known as the linear accelerator, Bjorken went on to make important contributions not just to particle physics theory, but also to the design of experiments and the efficient operation of particle accelerators.
Known for his warmth, generosity and collaborative spirit, Bjorken passionately pursued many interests outside physics,
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SLAC and Stanford&#;s James D. Bjorken Shares Wolf Prize in Physics
SLAC theoretical physicist and Stanford Professor Emeritus James D. “BJ” Bjorken has been awarded the Wolf Prize in Physics for his key role in elucidating the nature of the strong force and predicting what would happen if electrons were violently slammed into protons in the atomic nucleus.
His predictions were confirmed in stunning fashion in the late s by experiments at the newly opened 2-mile-long linear accelerator at what is now the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. They provided strong evidence that the proton consists of quarks, and earned a Nobel Prize for the three scientists who carried them out.
“There was an experimental side and a theory side, and both of them were very brilliant. We’re delighted that the theory side is being recognized with this Wolf Prize,” said SLAC theorist Michael Peskin.
SLAC’s Richard Taylor, who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Henry Kendall and Jerome Friedman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for performing those crucial experiments, said of Bjorken, “He’s a very, very good theorist and he’s been at the front e
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SLAC and Stanford’s James D. Bjorken Receives High Energy and Particle Physics Prize
James D. Bjorken, a theoretical physicist and professor emeritus at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and at Stanford University, has been awarded the High Energy and Particle Physics Prize of the europeisk Physical samhälle (EPS). Along with fyra other scientists, he was honored for theoretical work that revolutionized our understanding of the internal structure of the proton.
In a paper, Bjorken described what is known as scaling behavior in the structure of the proton, which led him to föreslå that the scattering of electrons in powerful electron-proton collisions occurs on point-like constituents of the proton, called partons. These predictions were soon confirmed experimentally and partons identified as fundamental quarks.
The prize recognizes Bjorken’s substantial contributions to the development of a theory of the strong nuclear force between quarks. The award ceremony will be held July 27 at the EPS conference on high energy physics in Vienna, Austria. Earlier this year, Bjorken received the Wolf Prize in Physics for his key role in the effort.
EPS awa