A biography for Burton Richterhasn’t been written yet.
“During my years at the synchrotron laboratory, I had become interested in the theory of quantum electrodynamics and had decided that what I would most like to do after completing my dissertation work was to probe the short-distance behavior of the electromagnetic interaction.”
“What struck me first on reading the Ten Hoeve-Jacobson paper was how small the consequences of the radiation release from the Fukushima reactor accident are projected to be compared to the devastation wrought by the giant earthquake and tsunami.”
“In 1960, I married Laurose Becker. We have two children: Elizabeth, born in 1961, and Matthew, born in 1963.”
“While a lab Director can get done the things that he regards as important, he has the more important job of bringing out the best ideas of the broader scientific community.”
“Politics is a lot tougher than physics.”