Julian E. Mack Distinguished Lectures

Julian E. Mack (1903-1966)

Education: University of Michigan (PhD 1928)

Affiliation: 1930-1966 University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Area: atomic spectroscopy and applied optics

As a memorial to the late Professor J. E. Mack, the Department of Physics, in consultations with the Mack family, have established a “Science and Society” fund administered through the University of Wisconsin Trust Office. Fund could be used to help bring distinguished speakers on campus and support symposia toward the end of optimizing the beneficial interactions between science and society and promoting the social responsibility of scientists.

Professor Julian Ellis Mack, was born April 26, 1903 in Laporte, Indiana, and received his undergraduate and graduate training at the University of Michigan where he was awarded the doctorate in 1928. From 1928-1930, as a National Research Council Fellow, he had an opportunity to work at Princeton, Michigan, Minnesota, and Upsala Universities which at the time were leading in his field of specialization, atomic spectroscopy. He came to Wisconsin in 1930 and established an internationally recognized lab in optical spectroscopy and atomic structure. During the World War II he was the leader of Group G-11 (Optics), the photography group, in the Weapons Physics Division at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project. He coordinated taking high-speed photographs of the Trinity test for the first atomic bomb in July 1945. He spent 1950-1951 at the European laboratories as a Guggenheim Fellow. From 1959-1961 he served as science officer at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm where his wit and graciousness as well as his scientific ability were greatly appreciated.

Notable was his enthusiastic devotion to many humanistic concerns. He was president of the Madison Art Association, took part in civic undertakings, promoted international contacts. He was concerned about the role of science and scientists in society and was an early member of the Federation of American Scientists and a member of its National Council in 1954-1955.

The memorial fund “Science and Society” was established in 1966. Professor Edward U. Condon  from the University of Colorado and National Bureau of Standards gave an inaugural speech on “Science, secrecy, and society”. Since then the J. E. Mack lecture series attracted and continues to attract many distinguished and noble speakers.