German scientist who, as an atomic physicist, won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1932 for his creation of quantum mechanics and was acknowledged as “the greatest German theoretical physicist.” He was known for developing matrix mechanics which was the mathematical formulation of his theory of quantum mechanics. He was also known for the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which contributed heavily to the development of quantum mechanics and influenced modern philosophical thought as well. (Einstein took issue with the basis of the uncertainty principle, and it was over this and related theories that he issued one of his most famous quotes, “God does not play dice with the universe,” though this may have been directed more at a group of physicists than to Heisenberg in particular.) Heisenberg taught physics at Copenhagen in 1926, Leipzig from 1927-1941, and the University of Berlin in 1942. He was associated early in his career with Nobel prize winners Niels Bohr and Max Born.
Werner Karl Heisenberg was the son of Dr. August Heisenberg, a professor of Greek philology. Raised and educated in Munich, he studied theoretical physics at the University of Munich where he distinguished himself introducing and defending new concepts. He earned a Ph.D. degree at Munich in 1923 and was invited to the University of Gottingen to assist Professor Max Born, co-winner of the 1954 Nobel Prize in physics. In 1924, Heisenberg received a Rockefeller Foundation grant to study at Copenhagen University in Denmark with 1922 Nobel laureate Niels Bohr. He returned to Germany to accept a professorship at the University of Leipzig in 1927.
It was in 1927 that he formulated his Uncertainty Principle, which basically says that it isn’t possible to determine the position and the velocity of subatomic particles at the same time. In 1932, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for the creation of quantum mechanics.
Heisenberg remained at the University of Leipzig until 1941 when he was named professor at the University of Berlin and director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics. In this role, he led Germany’s atomic research program and was the man who caused the most concern among United States atomic bomb specialists in their race against Hitler’s scientists. (In 1947, Heisenberg wrote that Germany’s policy directed physicists toward splitting the atom for industrial energy only.)
In 1946, he became professor of physics at the University of Gottingen and director of the Max-Planck Institute for Physics. In 1949, Heisenberg and other German scientists asked the Allied command for permission to do atomic research. Permission to work in the nonmilitary aspects of atomic research was granted.
Heisenberg’s works include “The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory,” 1930, “Cosmic Radiation,” 1946, “Philosophic Problems of Nuclear Science,” 1952 and “Nuclear Physics,” 1953. He received the Barnard Medal of Columbia University; the Mateucci Medal of Rome; and the Planck Medal.
In 1937, Heisenberg married Elizabeth Schumacher.
He died 2/01/1976 in Munich, Germany.
Link to Wikipedia biography