Harvey Elliott White

Harvey Elliott White (January 28, 1902 – October 3, 1988) was an American physicist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Early life and education White was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, but grew up in Pasadena, California. He received an A.B. from Occidental College in 1925 and a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1929. In 1929–30 he was a National Research Council Fellow at the Physikalische Technische Reichsanstalt in Germany, working on atomic spectroscopy under Friedrich Paschen.

Career While at Cornell, White was an Instructor in Physics from 1927 to 1929. After receiving his PhD and returning from Germany, he spent his career at the University of California, Berkeley: he was an Assistant Professor of Physics from 1930 to 1938, Associate Professor from 1938 to 1942, and then Professor. In 1958 he became Vice Chairman of the physics department. He designed two new buildings for the department at Berkeley, the second the 525-seat Physical Sciences Lecture Hall, which has a revolving stage divided into 120° sections each with its own chalkboard and demonstration facilities, and was also founder Director of the Lawrence Hall of Science. He retired in 1969. It was viewed by millions and aired by over 150 television stations;

Honors In 1928 Occidental College awarded White a Sc.D. degree. Jenkins, Francis and White, Harvey Elliott. Fundamentals of Physical Optics (1937); revised ed. Fundamentals of Optics (1950) White, Harvey Elliott. Modern College Physics (1948) White, Harvey Elliott and White, Donald Harvey, Physics and Music: The Science of Musical Sound (Saunders College/Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980; repr. Dover Publications, 2014)