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German-American mathematician and physicist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maximilian Jacob Herzberger (7 or 17 Mar 1899, Berlin, Germany — 9 Apr 1982, New Orleans, United States)[1][2] was a German-American mathematician and physicist, known for his development of the superachromat lens.
Maximilian Jacob Herzberger | |
---|---|
Born | Berlin, Germany | March 17, 1899
Died | April 9, 1982 83) New Orleans, Louisiana, US | (aged
Citizenship | United States |
Alma mater | Berlin University |
Known for | Superachromat lens |
Spouse | Edith Kaufmann |
Children | Ruth (1928), Ursula Bellugi (1931), Hans (1932) |
Awards | Cressy Morrison Award (NYAS 1945), Frederic Ives Medal (OSA 1962) |
Scientific career | |
Thesis | Ueber Systeme hyperkomplexer Grössen (1923) |
Doctoral advisors | Ludwig Bieberbach, Issai Schur |
Maximilian Herzberger was the son of Leopold Herzberger (born 7 Mar 1870, Krefeld — died in Rochester (NY)) and Sonja/Sofia Behrendt/Berendt/Berends (22 Mar 1876, Petersburg (Germany)[clarification needed] — 28 Jan 1945, Florence); he had a sister Olga (24 Sep 1897, Berlin — 2 Aug 1922, Berlin). The family was Jewish.[3] He studied mathematics and physics at the Berlin University, where Albert Einstein was one of his professors, and later became a friend and advisor.[4]: 57r In 1923, Herzberger finished his Ph.D. thesis Ueber Systeme hyperkomplexer Grössen under Ludwig Bieberbach and Issai Schur at the philosophical faculty.[5] In 1925, he married Edith Kaufmann (10 Oct 1901, Stuttgart — 16 Feb 2001, Carlsbad (California) or New Orleans); they had three children, born in Jena, viz. Ruth (born 1928), Ursula Bellugi (1931), and Hans (6 Aug 1932, spouse of Radhika Herzberger).[1][2] No later than Sep 1930, he was assistant of Hans Boegehold,(de) the chief of calculation office at Carl Zeiss Jena.[6]
In 1934, the Nazis deprived him from his professorship at Jena University and his contract with Zeiss. Leaving Germany with a "total of $10 in my pockets".[4], he went initially to the Netherlands, where he was hosted by the Dutch physicist A.C.S. van Heel.[7] After the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, he emigrated with his family to Rochester (NY),[6] where he became head of Eastman Kodak's optical research laboratories, arranged by Einstein.[4]: 57r In 1940, he and his family became U.S. citizens.[4]: 58l In 1945, he got the Cressy Morrison Award of the New York Academy of Sciences.[4]: 57l
In 1954 he finished the development of the superachromat as the ultimately well-corrected lens for Kodak.[4]: 58m [8] in 1959, he was part of the inaugural class of Fellows of the Optical Society of America.[9] In 1962, he was awarded the Frederic Ives Medal of the Optical Society of America.[10][11] In 1965, he retired from his position at Kodak, and helped building a graduate institute for optics in Switzerland,[4]: 58r until in 1968 he followed invitation of the University of New Orleans to teach at their Physics Department.[4]: 57m, 58r [6]
He held patents for an "apochromatic telescope objective having three air spaced components",[12] and a "superachromatic objective".[13]
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