Detlev Bronk
| Detlev Bronk | |
|---|---|
Bronk in 1963
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| Born | Detlev Wulf Bronk August 13, 1897 New York City |
| Died | November 17, 1975 (aged 78) New York City |
| Fields | Scientist |
| Institutions |
Johns Hopkins University National Academy of Sciences National Science Board University of Pennsylvania Rockefeller University World Academy of Art and Science |
| Alma mater |
Swarthmore College University of Michigan |
| Notable awards |
Franklin Medal (1961) Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964) Public Welfare Medal (1964) National Medal of Science (1968) Fellow of the Royal Society |
Detlev Wulf Bronk (August 13, 1897 – November 17, 1975) was a prominent American scientist, educator, and administrator. He is credited with establishing biophysics as a recognized discipline. Bronk served as President of Johns Hopkins University from 1949 to 1953 and as President of The Rockefeller University from 1953 to 1968. Bronk also held the presidency of the National Academy of Sciences between 1950 and 1962.
Bronk was a descendent of Jonas Bronck, an early settler to New Netherland from whose name The Bronx is derived. Bronk graduated from Swarthmore with a B.S. in electrical engineering, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. In September 1921 Bronk married Helen Alexander Ramsey, who had been a fellow student at Swarthmore. Turning to physics, he received an M.S. in 1922 from the University of Michigan. By 1924 he was intent on applying physics and mathematics to physiology, receiving a Ph.D. in 1926 from the University of Michigan.
When Bronk was offered the presidency of Johns Hopkins University in 1948, he accepted the position on the condition that Hopkins strengthen its program in biophysics. Hopkins did just that, building Jenkins Hall in 1950 specifically to house Biophysics and adding faculty and research facilities. Bronk believed the nation’s universities had a responsibility to prepare students to improve the world, regardless of their academic curriculum. He also recognized that, during World War II, the Hopkins faculty had spent most of their time performing defense-related research, and now it was time to rejuvenate the idea of research for the sake of learning and discovery. He frequently spoke on “breadth in education,” “fostering curiosity,” and “a university is a community of scholars.”
In addition to guiding Hopkins through its post-war “demobilization,” Bronk believed strongly in maintaining his own presence in the scientific community. He presided over the National Academy of Sciences and served on boards for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Science Advisory Committee of the Office of Defense Mobilization, and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (predecessor to NASA).
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