It is with great
sadness that we say goodbye to Leon Lederman, Nobel Laureate, Director
Emeritus of Fermilab, and Chair Emeritus of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Board of Sponsors.
Lederman’s scientific
accomplishments are well-known: work in founding the Fermi National
Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), where he was director from 1978 to
1989; the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988; the National Medal of Science;
the Enrico Fermi Prize; and many others. What is perhaps less
well-known was his accessibility to young scientists, a remarkable sense
of humor, and a deep, abiding passion for communicating the joy of
science to the wider public and to students everywhere.
“Leon had an uncanny
ability to focus in on the most important aspects of any issue, and he
brought that ability to the Bulletin’s Board of Sponsors, where
he served for many years before becoming board chair in 2001,” said
Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the organization. “His presence in
our community will be greatly missed.”
Lederman served as Chair, and then Co-Chair, of the
Bulletin’s
Board of Sponsors
from 2001 to 2015; he was elected Chair Emeritus in 2015. He passed
away at his home in Rexburg, Idaho and is survived by his wife of 37
years, Ellen, as well as three children, Rena, Jesse, and Rachel, with
his first wife, Florence Gordon.
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