MG 4 · 1985
William Fairbank
William Fairbank was an experimental physicist known for low-temperature physics and precision gravitational experiments.
Born
1917, Minneapolis, United States
Affiliation at the Time of the Award
Stanford University, Stanford, United States
Prize Motivation
“For his work in gravitation and low temperature physics.”
Meeting
MG IV, Rome, Italy
Work
Low-temperature physics enables extremely precise measurements needed for experimental gravitation.
Fairbank developed superconducting and cryogenic techniques and applied them to tests of gravity and fundamental physics.
His work helped create the experimental culture that made later precision relativity missions possible.