Nobel Laureates
in the Family
New Kannada Book Review
The
Nobel Prize is an honor unique in the world in having found its way into the
hearts and minds of simple people everywhere.
-
George Wald
The Nobel prizes have become synonymous with the pinnacle of human achievement
in different spheres. So far, over a thousand prizes have been awarded, mostly
to individuals. Interestingly, only
seven pairs of father-children awardees are to be found among them in the long
history of these awards. This is the subject of a recent publication in Kannada
authored by Prof P Venkataramiah, a noted physicist and educator of the
University of Mysore. It is also the inspiration and basis for this blog
article in which I have taken some liberties, going slightly beyond the scope
of the publication.
Preamble
When the classroom atmosphere gets
heavy, a resourceful teacher often steps outsides the confines of the
coursework to relieve the tedium and tries to make the subject matter a bit
spicy. One way to do this is to bring in
historical elements to the teaching. In the sciences, a rich subject for such
diversion is the Nobel Prize, won by the very best in the discipline, with a
dazzling aura associated with it. My
friend and former classmate Dr P Venkataramiah (shortened to PV in the rest of
this article), who is a former vice-chancellor of the Kuvempu University as
well as a retired professor of physics of the University of Mysore, has done
this with relish in his teaching days, and has just written a book in Kannada on
the rare duo of seven father and son/daughter awardees, five of whom happen to
be in his own field of physics.
The book (see the title page above
with a picture of Alfred Nobel) was recently released by the present vice-chancellor
of the University of Mysore Prof N K Loknath in the presence of former
vice-chancellor of KSOU, Prof N S Rame Gowda, and other dignitaries. I had the great
pleasure of talking about the contents of the book to an enlightened audience.
The Contents
The book has an impressive foreword by Distinguished Professor K J Rao, formerly of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and its (Kannada equivalent) contents are organized as follows:
Chapter 2: J J Thomson and G P Thomson
Chapter 3: Henry Bragg and Lawrence Bragg
Chapter 4: Niels Bohr
Chapter 5: Structure of the Atom
Chapter 6: A Wholesome Family brimming with happiness
Chapter 7: Philosopher Niels Bohr
Chapter 8: Pierre Curie
Chapter 9: Frederic Joliot
Chapter 10: Karl Manne Georg Siegbahn
Chapter 11: Arthur Kornberg and Roger Kornberg
Chapter 12: Hans von Euler-Chelpin
Given below are short chapter wise summaries with
some variations and embellishments of my own, also introducing a number of
pictures not present in the book under discussion:
Ch 1: Introduction
This examines mainly the comparative roles of genetic and environmental factors in the transmission of intelligence traits from generation to generation, and discusses how exceptional achievements like the winning of Nobel prizes in successive generations is a rarity, with only seven father-child examples to consider. A key observation is that environment plays a much greater role than the genes.
Ch 2: Joseph John Thomson (1856 – 1940) and George Paget Thomson (1892 – 1975)
Going as far back as Faraday’s pathbreaking experiments on electromagnetic phenomena, this chapter begins with a description of various physical phenomena, including Rayleigh scattering of light, the concept of the atom, discovery of cathode rays and the study of their behavior in Crook’s vacuum tubes, J J Thomson’s discovery of the electron and the nature of its electric charge, and how these discoveries led to Rutherford’s picture of the atomic nucleus. The identification of the electron as a fundamental constituent of all atoms, and of all matter, follows. PV then goes on to present a biographical sketch of the physicist emphasizing his overall broadmindedness despite his early irrational opposition to Einstein’s theories.
Sir J J Thomson was the recipient of a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906 for his discovery of the electron which is now such a familiar part of all our lives.
In the subsection on G P Thomson, PV starts with a discussion of the dual nature of light, the spectrum of black body radiation, and the wave nature of matter as conclusively established through the experimental discovery of electron diffraction. G P Thomson was awarded a Nobel Prize in physics in 1937 for this work. Rather ironically, the father-son duo got their prizes for discovering seemingly contradictory properties (particles and waves) of the electron, something that is fully consistent with quantum physics.
Ch 3: William Henry Bragg (1862 – 1942) and William Lawrence Bragg (1890 – 1971)
In this short chapter, PV presents both a historical account of the early developments in X-ray crystallographic studies and a biographical sketch of the Bragg father-son duo who worked initially in Australia and later shifted to England. They were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 1915 for their X-ray diffraction studies with crystals, the only instance of a father-son duo winning the award in the same year. Also, at just 25, Lawrence Bragg was the youngest scientist ever to win a Nobel prize.
Ch 4: Niels Bohr (1885 – 1962)
This entire chapter is devoted to the early life of Danish theoretical physicist Niels Bohr, undoubtedly one of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century. This is essentially the history of Europe of the times, characterized by some monumental developments in which Niels Bohr himself was a central player.
Ch 5: Structure of the Atom
In this chapter, PV leaves Niels Bohr temporarily aside and makes a long detour of the developments that led to an understanding of the structure of the atom and its constituents through a study of the spectra of hydrogen and other elements. Midway through the chapter, he brings Niels Bohr back into the thick of things, goes through some details of his personal life, the eventual award of the Nobel prize for physics in 1922 for his seminal contributions on the understanding of atomic structure, and finally his evolving friendship with Albert Einstein that later developed into a long intellectual conflict directed at the very foundations of quantum physics to which both had made outstanding contributions.
Niels
Bohr and Albert Einstein
Ch 6: A Wholesome Family brimming with happiness
Not done with Niels Bohr yet, PV continues with a narration related to the great man’s wife and large family, his travels to other countries, including the USA, and his wide popularity at home. Despite some major personal tragedies, including the death of a son* in tragic circumstances, Bohr’s family was a contented and happy one, a fact that is the main focus of this chapter.
[* Niels Bohr’s eldest of six sons, Christian,
died tragically in a boating accident in 1934 at the age of 18 even as the
father was looking on helplessly, and another, Harald, was severely mentally
disable and died at the age of about 10.]
The discussion then shifts to another path-breaking discovery in which Niels Bohr had a hand, the liquid drop model of the atomic nucleus, that was to play a crucial role later in the understanding of uranium fission and its staggering consequences. This discovery also set the stage for the entry of his son Aage Bohr (1922 – 2009) into researching the shapes of nuclei and the collective motion of nucleons within an atomic nucleus. This work later brought him a share of the 1975 Nobel prize for physics. Below is a memorable picture of the father-son duo, taken much before this happened.
Other models that shaped nuclear physics at the time are also discussed at some length in this chapter.
It is interesting to note that the father contributed crucially to the understanding of the atom and the son did the same for the understanding of the nucleus of the atom.
Ch 7: Philosopher Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr was not just a pioneering physicist; he was also a profound philosopher whose ideas reshaped the philosophy of science. Central to this was the principle of complementarity according to which seemingly contradictory properties (such as wave-particle duality) are intrinsic to nature. He championed the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics that challenged the classical notions of objective reality, in glaring and triumphant opposition to Einstein’s ideas on the issue. He was also an advocate for the responsible use of science and the unity of human knowledge. These are well reflected in this chapter which is seemingly unrelated to the main theme of the book.
Ch 8: Pierre Curie
‘The Curies’ would have been a more appropriate title to this chapter considering how the legendary Marie Sklodowska Curie is at least as responsible as her husband Pierre Curie for what followed, with their daughter (Irene Joliot) and son-in-law (Frederic Joliot) both ending up with Nobel prizes, apart from the fact that they themselves could show as many as three prizes between them – an astonishing fact in the history of the Nobel Prize.
Below are priceless pictures of the two couples, a generation apart:
For the record, Pierre Curie (1859 – 1906) and Marie Curie (1867 – 1934) were awarded the 1903 Nobel prize in physics jointly, along with Henri Becquerel for the discovery of radioactivity. The award to Marie followed only after Pierre had threatened to refuse the prize if she was unjustly excluded from it. Later, in 1911, she was the sole winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry for the discovery of radioactive elements radium and polonium. Pierre too would have had a share of it if the award could have been conferred posthumously.
Ch 9: Frederic Joliot
This chapter describes the work of Frederic
Joliot-Curie (1900 – 1958) who married Irene Curie (1897 – 1956) in 1926 and chose
to add the Curie surname to his own out of respect for their achievements and
legacy. The two were partners in some groundbreaking research that resulted in
the 1935 discovery of induced radioactivity in natural elements. In the process,
they had also come close to discovering the neutron, later credited to James
Chadwick of England. They had also sown the seeds for the subsequent nuclear
fission experiments that were to influence the course of human history radically.
It is another curious fact in the history of twentieth century physics that Marie Curie and Pierre Curie discovered natural radioactivity whereas Frederic Joliot-Curie and Irene Curie ended up discovering artificial radioactivity.
The contribution of the Curie family is indeed unparalleled in the annals of physics.
Ch 10: Karl Manne Georg Siegbahn
Kai and
Karl Siegbahn at work
This short chapter discusses the contributions of the Swedish physicist Karl Manne Georg Siegbahn (1986 – 1978) and his son Kai Manne Borje Siegbahn in the field of spectroscopy. Father Karl Siegbahn was awarded the 1924 Nobel prize in physics for his discoveries and research in the field of X-Ray Spectroscopy, and his son Kai was awarded the 1981 Nobel prize in physics for his contribution to the development of high-resolution electron spectroscopy.
Considering that a physicist is writing about two Nobel laureates who are also physicists, this chapter could have been conceived in greater detail.
Ch 11: Arthur Kornberg and Roger Kornberg
Arthur
Kornberg and Roger Kornberg
Besides providing brief biographical information, this chapter brings out the following facts regarding this father-son due from the USA:
The Kornbergs represent a remarkable legacy in the field of biochemistry, each making groundbreaking contributions that have profoundly advanced our understanding of molecular biology. Arthur Kornberg, the father, was a pioneering scientist whose work laid the foundation for modern genetics. His son, Roger Kornberg, followed in his footsteps, achieving his own monumental discoveries.
Arthur Kornberg (1918–2007) is best known for his discovery of the mechanisms underlying DNA synthesis. In 1959, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for his work on the enzymatic synthesis of DNA. His research demonstrated how DNA is replicated in cells, a process essential for life. His work not only advanced basic science but also paved the way for advancements in biotechnology.
Roger Kornberg (born 1947), inspired by his father’s passion for science, pursued a career in biochemistry and made his own groundbreaking discoveries. In 2006, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies on the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription, elucidating how genetic information in DNA is transcribed into messenger RNA (mRNA), a crucial step in gene expression. This knowledge has profound implications for understanding diseases and developing therapies, particularly in cancer and genetic disorders.
Ch 12: Hans von Euler-Chelpin
This chapter brings out the fact that the German-born
Swedish biochemist Hans von Euler-Chelpin (1873 - 1964) and his son Ulf Svante von
Euler (1905 - 1983) were a remarkable father-son duo who both won Nobel Prizes
for their groundbreaking contributions to biosciences. Hans was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1929 for his work on enzymes and fermentation,
particularly his discovery of cozymase, a key coenzyme in metabolic processes.
His research laid the foundation for modern biochemistry.
Ulf, a physiologist, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine in 1970 for identifying noradrenaline as the primary neurotransmitter in the sympathetic nervous system, revolutionizing our understanding of neurophysiology. He also discovered Substance P and prostaglandins, which are critical in pain and inflammation research.
The chapter also contains brief biographical sketches of the duo.
Extending the Scope
The book discusses only the (seven) instances of father-child duo of Nobel laureates that are known to exist so far. What if the criteria are expanded to include anyone in the larger family tree? Would the number go up significantly? I took the assistance of two AI apps to answer this question, and I came up with the following four additions to PV’s list in the book:
- Uncle & Nephew - C V Raman (1930) & S Chandrasekhar (1983) – Both Physics - India/USA
C V Raman and S Chandrasekhar
- Brothers - Jan Tinbergen (Economics, 1969) & Nicolaas Tinbergen (Medicine, 1973) – Denmark
Jan and Nicolaas Tinbergen
- Couple – Gunnar Myrdal (Economics, 1974) & Wife Alva Myrdal (Peace, 1982) – Sweden
Alva & Gunnar Myrdal
- Couple - May-Britt Moser (Physiology, 2014) & Husband Edvard I Moser (Physiology, 2014) – Norway
May-Britt and Edvard Moser
This is certainly a welcome addition to the original list, but hardly significant in terms of just numbers.
The Bottomline
No matter how one looks at the facts, environmental factors seem to play an overwhelmingly greater role in the passage of high-caliber intelligence from generation to generation!
Tailpiece
1. Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858 - 1937) - India
2. Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868 - 1921) - USA
3. Lise Meitner (1878 - 1968) - Austrian/Swedish
4. Edwin Hubble (1889 - 1953) - USA
5. Satyendra Nath Bose (1894 - 1974) - India
6. Georges Lemaitre (1894 - 1966) - Belgium
7. Robert Oppenheimer (1904 - 1967) - USA
8. Chien-Shiung Wu (1912 - 1997) - China/USA
9. John Stewart Bell (1928 - 1990) - Northern Ireland
10. Vera Rubin (1928 - 2016) - USA
11. George Sudarshan (1931 - 2018) - India/USA
12. Stephen Hawking (1942 - 2018) - England
13. Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943 -) - England
Addendum
A very discerning reader, Dr A G
Kulkarni of Bangalore, has pointed out that the two AI apps I had relied on
have failed to mention a fifth addition to Prof PV’s list of seven pairs. It is the husband-wife duo of Indian-American
Dr Abhijit Banerjee (born 1961) and French-American Dr Esther Duflo (born 1972)
who shared the 2019 Economics Prize.
