Scientist of the day - John Bardeen

John Bardeen

The only person to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics twice, John Bardeen was an American physicist and one of the co-inventors of the transistor. A qualified electrical engineer, he also propounded a fundamental theory of conventional superconductivity along with physicists Leon N Cooper and John Robert Schrieffer. His inventions in the field of physics led to a revolution in the electronics industry as it was the transistor that paved the way for further research and development in information and communication technology. His contributions to the scientific world are of immense significance and he was counted among LIFE Magazine's list of "100 Most Influential Americans of the Century” in 1990. Even as a young boy Bardeen was exceptionally intelligent and performed brilliantly at school. Tragedy struck when his mother became ill with cancer and died leaving him heartbroken. His father quickly remarried adding to the boy’s unhappiness. Nonetheless he faced this tragedy bravely and went on to study engineering. It was while working at Bell Labs that he invented the transistor along with some colleagues which led to his first Nobel Prize victory. A few years later he again won the Nobel Prize for his theory of superconductivity. He is among the only four people to win the coveted prize twice. 

Childhood & Early Life

He was born on 23 May 1908, in Wisconsin, as the second son of Dr. Charles Russell Bardeen and his wife Althea Harmer Bardeen. He father was the dean of the University of Wisconsin medical school while his mother too was an educated woman who had studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

Major Works

He played a pivotal role in the development of the transistor along with Walter Brattain and William Shockley. The transistor became the primary building block of various other electronic devices and led to more research and development in the field of electronic communication.

Personal Life & Legacy

He married Jane Maxwell in 1938. His wife was a biologist who taught at a girls’ high school. The couple had three children and he was a very devoted family man.

In spite of all his professional achievements, Bardeen was a very simple and unassuming person. He was a good-natured and friendly man who loved playing golf.

He died of heart disease on January 30, 1991 at the age of 82.

Trivia

He is the only person to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics twice.

Buddha Purnima 2016

Buddha Purnima during Vaishakha month is celebrated as birth anniversary of Gautama Buddha. Gautama Buddha whose birth name was Siddhartha Gautama was a spiritual teacher on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.

The time of Gautama Buddha’s birth and death is uncertain. However, most historians date his lifetime between 563-483 B.C. Most people consider Lumbini, Nepal as birth place of Buddha. Buddha died at the age of 80 at Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.

For Buddhists, Bodh Gaya is the most important pilgrimage site related to the life of Gautama Buddha. The other three important pilgrimage sites are Kushinagar, Lumbini, and Sarnath. It is believed that Gautama Buddha obtained Enlightenment at Bodhagaya and he first taught the Dharma at Sarnath.

It is believed that Gautama Buddha obtained Enlightenment and passed away on the same day. Buddha Purnima is also known as Buddha Jayanti, Vesak, Vaishaka and Buddha’s Birthday.

In North India Buddha is considered as the 9^th incarnation and Lord Krishna as the 8^th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. However Buddha is never considered as an Avatar of Vishnu in South Indian belief. In South India Balarama is considered as the 8^th incarnation and Krishna as the 9^th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Balarama is counted as an incarnation of Vishnu by the majority of Vaishnava movements. Even Buddhists don’t consider Buddha as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.