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Robert J. Van de Graaff

Robert J. Van de Graaff
Robert J. Van de Graaff.jpg
Born Robert Jemison Van de Graaff
(1901-12-20)December 20, 1901
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
Died January 16, 1967(1967-01-16) (aged 65)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Nationality American
Fields Physics
Institutions Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Princeton University
Alma mater University of Alabama
La Sorbonne
University of Oxford
Known for Van de Graaff generator
Notable awards Elliott Cresson Medal (1936)
Duddell Medal and Prize (1947)
Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics (1966)

Robert Jemison Van de Graaff (December 20, 1901 – January 16, 1967) was an American engineer, physicist, and noted for his design and construction of high-voltage Van de Graaff generators. He taught at Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Robert Jemison Van de Graaff was born at the Jemison-Van de Graaff Mansion in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His parents were of Dutch descent. His three older brothers Adrian, Hargrove, and William were all All-Southern college football players for the Alabama Crimson Tide. William was known as "Bully" and was Alabama's first All-American. In Tuscaloosa, Robert received his BS and master's degrees from The University of Alabama where he was a member of The Castle Club (later became Mu Chapter of Theta Tau). After a year at the Alabama Power Company, Van de Graaff studied at the Sorbonne. In 1926 he earned a second BS at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, completing his PhD in 1928.

Van de Graaff was the inventor of the Van de Graaff generator, a device which produces high voltages. In 1929 he developed his first generator, producing 80,000 volts. By 1933 he had constructed a larger generator generating 7 million volts.


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