Martin Breidenbach

Martin Breidenbach (born 1943) is an American professor of particle physics and astrophysics, emeritus, at Stanford University. His research interests have included e+e- colliding beam physics, detector optimization, and electromagnetic calorimeters.

Early life and education The son of Leo and Sylvia (née Rosen) Breidenbach, Martin Breidenbach was born in New York in 1943. After his birth, the family moved to Hillsdale, New Jersey. and a doctorate in 1970, both at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His dissertation, Inelastic Electron-Proton Scattering at High Momentum Transfer, was advised by Jerome Friedman and Henry Kendall, based on the first deeply inelastic electron-proton scattering experiment at SLAC.

Career From 1971 to 1972, he worked at CERN in the Split Field Magnet Group at ISR. In 1972, he returned to SLAC, joining the SLAC-LBL Magnetic Detector effort at SPEAR that in 1974 discovered the J/ψ and ψ'. At SLAC he also became involved in Burton Richter's experiments on the SPEAR storage ring, and new charmonium states.

Starting in 1980 Breidenbach was involved in the construction of the Stanford Linear Collider (SLC) control system and design of the SLD detector.

In 1989 he became a professor at SLAC. 2000 Panofsky Prize, Citation: For his many contributions to e+e- physics, especially with the SLD detector at the Stanford Linear Collider. His deep involvement in all aspects of the project led to important advances both in the measurement of electroweak parameters and in accelerator technology.