Eugene Wigner

Physicist, Academic

1902 – 1995

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Who was Eugene Wigner?

Eugene Paul "E. P." Wigner, was a Hungarian American theoretical physicist and mathematician. He received a share of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 "for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and application of fundamental symmetry principles"; the other half of the award was shared between Maria Goeppert-Mayer and J. Hans D. Jensen. Wigner is notable for having laid the foundation for the theory of symmetries in quantum mechanics as well as for his research into the structure of the atomic nucleus. It was Eugene Wigner who first identified Xe-135 "poisoning" in nuclear reactors, and for this reason it is sometimes referred to as Wigner poisoning. Wigner is also important for his work in pure mathematics, having authored a number of theorems. In particular, Wigner's theorem is a cornerstone in the mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics.

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Born
Nov 17, 1902
Budapest
Also known as
  • E. P. Wigner
  • Eugene Paul Wigner
  • Eugene P. Wigner
  • Eugene Paul "E. P." Wigner
Siblings
Religion
  • Judaism
  • Lutheranism
Ethnicity
  • Jewish people
  • Hungarian people
  • Ashkenazi Jews
Nationality
  • United States of America
  • Hungary
  • Austria
Profession
Education
  • Technical University of Berlin
  • Fasori Gimnázium
Employment
  • Princeton University
  • University of Göttingen
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison
Lived in
  • Germany
  • United States of America
Died
Jan 1, 1995
Princeton

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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"Eugene Wigner." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/e_p_wigner>.

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