Edwin C. Kemble

Edwin Crawford Kemble (1889-1984) was an American physicist who made significant contributions to quantum mechanics, band spectra, atomic structure, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, analytical dynamics, theory of superchargers, and the philosophical aspects of quantum theory.

Kemble earned an S.B. from the Case School of Applied Science in 1911 and his A.M and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard in 1914 and 1917, respectively. His dissertation on quantum theory was the first American doctoral thesis on theoretical physics.

In 1919 Kemble became a Harvard instructor. He introduced the first course on quantum theory to the Harvard physics curriculum. In 1930, he became a professor of physics. He chaired the Department of Physics from 1940-1945.

During World War II, he was also director of physics instruction at Harvard for Army and Navy officer training programs and helped design torpedo propellers. He also consulted for the Navy's underwater sound laboratory.

After the war, in 1945, Kemble served on the ALSOS mission, which aimed to uncover German atomic bomb research.

Kemble was deeply religious and concerned with the influence of science on religious ideas and on the central values of the Christian tradition.

[much excerpted from the finding aid for Kemble's papers.]