Jack Steinberger Biography

Jack Steinberger was a physicist who co-discovered the muon neutrino along with Leon Lederman and Melvin Schwartz, a discovery which earned the trio the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics. Born as a Jew in Germany, he received a very simple upbringing as the country was still reeling under the post-war depression. Things took a turn for the worst when the Nazi party came into power and the systematic persecution of the Jews began. Fearing for their son’s life, his parents arranged to send him  to the United States when he was 13. He struggled to establish himself in the foreign land and was aided by Jewish charities in the United States. Despite all the challenges he faced, he studied hard and obtained a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Chicago. He then worked towards his master’s degree and PhD and eventually embarked on an academic career. He conducted extensive research over the course of his career. Along with his Columbia University colleagues Lederman and Schwartz, he worked on significant experiments in particle physics which led to the discovery of a new type of neutrino called a muon neutrino. In addition to his scientific career, Steinberger was a Humanist Laureate in the International Academy of Humanism.