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Matthew Sands

1919 – 2014

American accelerator physicist

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About Matthew Sands

Lived 1919 – 2014 (aged 94). Matthew Sands was an American physicist and university teacher, known for The Feynman Lectures on Physics.

Matthew Linzee Sands (October 20, 1919 – September 13, 2014) was an American physicist and educator best known as a co-author of the Feynman Lectures on Physics. A graduate of Rice University, Sands served with the Naval Ordnance Laboratory and the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II.

After the war, Sands studied cosmic rays for his doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) under the supervision of Bruno Rossi. Sands went to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1950, and helped build and operate its 1.5 GeV electron synchrotron. He became deputy director for the construction and early operation of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in 1963. Sands later joined the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) as a professor of physics, and served as its Vice Chancellor for Science from 1969 to 1972. In 1998, The American Physical Society awarded him the Robert R. Wilson Prize "for his many contributions to accelerator physics and the development of electron-positron and proton colliders."

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Known for
The Feynman Lectures on Physics
Education
Rice University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Clark University, California Institute of Technology
Employers
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Stanford University
Awards
Fellow of the American Physical Society; Robert R. Wilson Prize; Robert R. Wilson
Also known as
Matthew Linzee Sands, Matthew L. Sands

People in Matthew Sands's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Matthew Sands's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Matthew Sands?

American accelerator physicist (1919–2014)

When was Matthew Sands born?

Matthew Sands was born on 20 October 1919 in Oxford, Oxford.

When did Matthew Sands die?

Matthew Sands died on 13 September 2014 in Santa Cruz.

What was Matthew Sands's occupation?

Matthew Sands was a physicist and university teacher.

What was Matthew Sands known for?

Matthew Sands was known for The Feynman Lectures on Physics.

What nationality was Matthew Sands?

Matthew Sands was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Matthew Sands

· Wikidata: Q1368371

· DBpedia: Matthew Sands

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Matthew Sands. https://biography.guide/matthew-sands/

MLA: "Matthew Sands." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/matthew-sands/.

Chicago: "Matthew Sands." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/matthew-sands/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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