George B. Arfken
| George B. Arfken | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 20, 1922 Jersey City, New Jersey |
| Fields | Theoretical physics, mathematical physics |
| Alma mater | Yale University, 1943 |
| Spouse | Carolyn Arfken née Dines |
George Brown Arfken (born November 20, 1922) is an American theoretical physicist and the author of several mathematical physics texts.[1] He was a physics professor at Miami University from 1952 to 1983 and the chair of the Miami University physics department 1956–1972.[2] He is currently an emeritus professor at Miami University.[3] Arfken is also an authority on Canadian philately.[4]
Education
Arfken received a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Yale University in 1943. He earned a Master's degree in physics in 1948 and a doctorate in 1950, both at Yale.[2]
Personal life
Arfken married Carolyn Dines, a graduate of Westminster College of Pennsylvania, in 1949, and they raised three children together. She died in 1997. In 1998, Arfken endowed a scholar-in-residence program in her name at Miami University.[2][5]
In retirement Arfken played a major role in developing the postal history of Canada for the 60-year period 1851–1911, following the pioneering work of Allan Steinhart. This was primarily a study of the postal rates, the routes the mail followed, and the postal markings on the envelopes and postcards. Arfken wrote one book on the United States' first postage-due stamps and then, with coauthors, nine books on the early Canadian postage and registration stamps. In addition there were over 250 articles in philatelic journals.
Selected publications
- 1949: S-Wave Proton-Proton Scattering from 0.2 to 40 Mev for the Yukawa and Gauss Error Potentials, Physical Review Volume 75
- 1953: A Vector Addition Coefficient Identity, Physical Review Volume 92
- 1961: Ionization of the interplanetary gas, Los Alamos Scientific Lab
- 1973: Comment on “Elementary Use of Spheroidal Coordinates”, American Journal of Physics Volume 41, Issue 12, pp. 1375
Bibliography
- 1966: Mathematical Methods for Physicists ISBN 0123846544
- 1989: University Physics ISBN 0155929747, coauthored with David F. Griffing and Donald C. Kelly
- 1989: Canada's Small Queen Era - Postage Usage During the Small Queen Era, 1870-1897
- 2003: Essential Mathematical Methods for Physicists ISBN 9780120598779, coauthored with Hans J. Weber, Frank E. Harris
References
- ↑ Who's Who in Technology Today, 1982-1983. J. Dick. 1982. p. 339.
- 1 2 3 "George Arfken endows scholar-in-residence". Miami University News. 21 July 1998. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ↑ "Miami University Department of Physics". Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ↑ "Canada's Small Queen Era - Postage Usage During the Small Queen Era, 1870-1897". Canadian Philatelist. Jan–Feb 1990: 71. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ↑ "Dr. Mark Havey named Arfken Scholar in Residence". Old Dominion University. 2005. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
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