UIHistories Project: A History of the University of Illinois by Kalev Leetaru
N A V I G A T I O N D I G I T A L L I B R A R Y
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16

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o v e r l a p p i n g spectrum bands t o a s i n g l e r e p r e s e n t a T h i s s i m p l i f i c a t i o n of t h e spectrum enabled them characteristics.

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One of Loomis' s t u d e n t s a t I l l i n o i s was Polykarp Kusch (Ph.D. 1936),

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l a t e r a t Columbia d i d e x p e r i m e n t s on t h e p r e c i s e measurement of the j I

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magnetic moment o f t h e e l e c t r o n f o r which he was awarded a Nobel P r i z e i n 1955. >sium. His t h e s i s r e s e a r c h a t I l l i n o i s was on t h e m o l e c u l a r spectrum of Kusch i n t e r p r e t e d much of t h e s p e c t r u m , b u t some unsolved f e a t u r e s

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rankled i n h i s mind f o r a b o u t t h i r t y y e a r s and he f i n a l l y came back t o them. In the summer o f 1967 Kusch s e n t Loomis, a s a p r e s e n t on h i s 78th. b i r t h d a y , a manuscript e n t i t l e d "An A n a l y s i s of t h e 6250 Angstrom Band System of C s 2 - "

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When Loomis came t o I l l i n o i s h e p r o m p t l y b r o u g h t i n four young i n s t r u c t o r s : J . H. B a r t l e t t Mott-Smith i n 1 9 3 1 . and G. M. Almy i n 1930, P . G. Kruger and H. M. e q u i p m e n t for t h e s t u d y of atomic and

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molecular s p e c t r a was o b t a i n e d and r e s e a r c h i n t h e f i e l d was v i g o r o u s l y pursued. F o r t y P h . D . ' s w e r e g r a d u a t e d i n t h e n e x t decade a s compared with T h i s p r o g r e s s was made i n s p i t e of the g r e a t

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36 in the p r e v i o u s 20 y e a r s . depression which c l o s e d of the d e p a r t m e n t

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i n on t h e U n i v e r s i t y i n 1932 and slowed the p r o g r e s s The c o n s t r a i n t s were v i v i d l y d e s c r i b e d 1934-35: ^ ^ ' J ^

f o r five y e a r s .

by Loomis i n h i s r e p o r t o f t h e y e a r "The d e p a r t m e n t ,

whose o p e r a t i n g e x p e n s e s have

starvation point for over t h r e e y e a r s , suffered a financia „ I t was r e s c u e d , t e m p o r a r i l y , by winter and p r e t t y n e a r l y had t o c l o s e u p . Li wa ^ ^ ^ the a n o i n t of $2200 f r o . g e n e r a l and * ~ ^ ^ nu h our work, both and how

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