Buechner, William Weber
Dates
- Existence: 1914 - 1985
Biographical Note
William Weber Buechner, 1914-1985, S.B. 1935, and Ph.D. in physics, 1939, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became an assistant professor of physics at MIT in 1942, associate professor in 1951, and professor in 1956. He was head of the Department of Physics, 1961-1967. In the 1920s he worked with Robert J. Van de Graaff on the development of the high voltage electrostatic generator, and in 1937 he became director of the Van de Graaff generator facility at MIT. He later helped plan MIT's Bates Linear Accelerator. During World War II he was associate director of the MIT High Voltage Laboratory. The focus of his research was on experimental nuclear physics with a particular interest in engineering applications of electrostatic generators.