 of state, which accounts for the adsorbate atom’s simultaneous tendencies to attach and evaporate. It is still applied in surface physics. In addition, the exactly solvable Ashkin–Teller model in statistical physics continues to provide insight into the thermodynamics of phase transitions. Teller was also a major contributor to the Monte Carlo computational method often called the Metropolis algorithm, which Computing in Science and Engineering selected as one of the 10 most important computational algorithms of the 20th century.
In 1936, Teller and Gamow made a key contribution to the rapidly developing field of nuclear physics in their paper on beta decay, which described how a nucleon could flip its spin during the decay transition when emitting an electron and an antineutrino. This phenomenon is now called a Gamow–Teller transition, the discovery of which turned out to be a large step toward the modern Standard Model of elementary particles. The Teller–Gamow paper also unexpectedly led to an understanding of nuclear energy generation in the Sun.
In the late 1940s, with Fermi and Victor Weisskopf, Teller showed conclusively that the mu meson (or muon) could not be the then-sought Hideki Yukawa pi meson (or pion). In another contribution, the Lyddane–Sachs–Teller relation described the dielectric constant needed to explain how photons propagate in salts. This relation proved, in turn, to be a fruitful analogy, leading Maurice Goldhaber and Teller to predict strong universal gamma-ray absorption resonances in nuclei.
Life at the Laboratory
At Livermore, Teller pushed for novel nuclear weapon designs and smaller warheads. In particular, in 1956, he proposed to the Navy the development of thermonuclear warheads small and light enough to be carried on submarine-launched ballistic missiles. That successful program, much of which was carried out while Teller served as Laboratory director from 1958 to 1960, established Livermore’s reputation for innovative nuclear design. In 1998, Teller reflected, “The Laboratory is the one thing in my life that I am completely happy about.”
In 1960, Teller accepted a joint appointment as professor of physics-at-large for UC and as associate director for Lawrence Radiation Laboratory (both the Berkeley and Livermore sites). In 1965, he was named associate director for physics at Livermore. Upon his retirement in 1975 from UC, Teller became director emeritus at Lawrence Livermore and joined the Hoover Institution at Stanford University as a senior research fellow. At the Hoover Institution, he specialized in international and national policies concerning defense and energy.
In support of SDI during the 1980s, Teller promoted the concepts of x-ray lasers driven by nuclear explosives and nonnuclear “brilliant pebbles” satellites. Even then, at an advanced age, he wanted to contribute to both science and his adopted homeland in any way possible. Above all, Teller believed that being a scientist meant solving the world’s biggest problems.
Focus on Applied Science
Teller’s desire to see practical results from basic science research influenced his leadership of “Teller Tech,” the Department of Applied Science at Livermore, which was established as part of the College of Engineering at UC Davis in the early 1960s. His founding of Teller Tech was based on the idea of encouraging young applied scientists to take advantage of the latest developments in basic science.
Teller had always been inspired to teach. In the U.S., he taught successively at George Washington University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, and at several UC campuses, eventually holding the prestigious title of University of California Professor Emeritus. Many of his graduate students went on to become prominent scientists, including Chen Ning Yang from Chicago, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957. In 1963, at the height of the Cold War, Teller worked with Fannie and John Hertz to found the Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship Program to provide training for innovative applied scientists and engineers.
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