Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2010.5 |
Object Name |
Medal |
Title |
Niels Bohr International Gold Medal Award |
Date |
1982 |
Description |
Awarded to Dr. John A. Wheeler by the Dansk Ingeniorforening (Denmark) in 1982. Obverse: profile portrait of Neils Bohr with "Niels Bohr 1885 1955" along perimeter Reverse: "Contraria Sunt Complementa" along perimeter. Image of atom in center. |
Label |
The Niels Bohr International Gold Medal has been awarded by Dansk Ingeniorforening since 1955 for outstanding work by an engineer or physicist for the peaceful utilization of atomic energy. John Archibald Wheeler was a professor and physicist, perhaps best known for coining the term "black hole" at a New York conference in 1967. After receiving a PhD in physics from Johns Hopkins University, Wheeler worked at Princeton University from 1938 to 1976 and at the University of Texas from 1976 to 1986. He helped make Princeton the center of research on gravity and Einstein's theory of relativity. Part of the Manhattan Project to build an atomic bomb during World Word II, he continued to do work for the government, including on missile defense. Wheeler collaborated with Niels Bohr and Robert Oppenheimer, and inspired a younger generation of physicists. |
Material |
Gold |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift of Dr. James E. Wheeler, 2010. |
Search Terms |
20th century twentieth century award scientist |