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Revision as of 17:51, 13 January 2010 by Splette (talk | contribs) (→Global warming: format)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)William Happer is a physicist who has specialised in the study of optics and spectroscopy. He is the Eugene Higgins professor of physics at Princeton University where he holds the Cyrus Fogg Brackett Chair of Physics.
Education
He studied physics at the University of North Carolina, graduating in 1960, and then gained his doctorate at Princeton in 1964.
Career
His academic career started at Columbia University where he became a full professor and director of the Columbia Radiation Laboratory. In 1980, he left to go to Princeton where he was the Class of 1909 Professor of Physics. In 1991, he joined United States Department of Energy where he was the director of its research budget of $3 billion. In 1993, he returned to his position at Princeton where he became the chair of the research board in 1995.
In addition to these full-time positions, he has had numerous other assignments: chairman of the steering committee for JASON; trustee of the MITRE Corporation, the Richard Lounsbery Foundation and the Marshall Institute. He co-founded Magnetic Imaging Technologies Inc. in 1994.
Global warming
In February 2009 Happer testified before Congress, "I believe that the increase of CO2 is not a cause for alarm and will be good for mankind", for among other reasons because of its beneficial effects on plant growth.
Honours
He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He received a Alfred P. Sloan fellowship in 1955, an Alexander von Humboldt award in 1976, the Herbert P.Broida Prize in 1997, the Davisson-Germer prize in 199 and the Thomas Alva Edison patent award in 2000.
References
- ^ Alan Shaw (2004), University research centers of excellence for homeland security, National Academies Press, ISBN 9780309092364
- William Happer (February 25, 2009). "Climate change - statement of William Happer". U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Retrieved 2009-09-25.