Sub-fonds CERN-ARCH-DGR-LVH-001 to CERN-ARCH-DGR-LVH-211 - Leon Van Hove

211 items, 146 boxes, 16 linear metres

Léon Van Hove was born in 1924 in Brussels, Belgium, in a schoolteacher's family. Fascinated by mathematics, he started in October 1941 the mathematics-physics section of the Free University of Brussels. In 1946 he got his Physics Doctorate in mathematics and became assistant in theoretical physics at Brussels University. From 1949 to 1954 he worked at Princeton Institute for Advanced Study by virtue of his meeting with Robert Oppenheimer, who had advised him to apply for a research fellowship. His research concerned problems in statistical mechanics and quantum field theory. Later, he was introduced to theoretical problems in direct relation to the experimental work then going on at Brookhaven National Laboratory on slow neutron scattering in solids and liquids. In 1954, he accepted a professorship and directorship of the Theoretical Physics Institute at the State University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. His research turned again to more fundamental questions : irreversibility and master equations in quantum statistics. In 1959, he received an invitation to become Leader of the Theory Division at CERN.

• Activities at CERN :
  Invited by Victor Weisskopf, Léon Van Hove joined CERN in 1960 and was leader of the CERN Theoretical Physics Division until 1965. He was very interested by the job because the CERN laboratory "was trying to build up a true centre of excellence in a field where the scientific leadership had moved to the USA" ("The legacy of Léon Van Hove" edited by Alberto Giovannini, World Scientific Series in 20th Century Physics - Vol.28, World Scientific Publishing, Singapore, 2000).
  After 3 years with the Max-Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in Munich (1971-1974), where he was chairman of the directorate, he returned to CERN and was invited by the Council to become Research Director General of the Laboratory (1976-1980). He was an expert on all theoretical and experimental scientific activities of the Laboratory in a critical period, and provided with John Adams the visionary leadership that brought CERN to the forefront of high energy physics.
  His term was marked by two very important far-reaching decisions. The first decision was the antiproton programme: he decided to transform the SPS (Super Proton Synchrotron) just commissioned, into a proton-antiproton collider. This collider led in 1983 to the discovery of the weak bosons W and Z. He took a strong personal interest in its approval, execution and subsequent success. The second decision was to go ahead with the LEP (Large Electron Positron) proposal. He laid essential groundwork for its approval and its experimental programme. These decisions turned out to have a profound impact on the development of high energy physics, not only in Europe.
  After completion of his term as Director General, he returned to his division and started a new, very active period as a research scientist.
  During his 3 decades at CERN, he concentrated his research activity on problems closely related to current experiments. He selected the field of multiparticle dynamics : the dynamics of the high energy phenomena which are characterized by the production of large numbers of particles. This research combines features pertaining to elementary particle physics, quantum field theory and statistical physics.
• Activities beyond CERN :
  European Southern Observatory In 1981, the new headquarters of the European Southern Observatory opened in Garching bei München. Léon Van Hove helped to establish the joint ESO/CERN Symposia on Astronomy, Cosmology and Fundamental Physics. The basic idea was to hold meetings in which physicists, astrophysicists and cosmologists could interact and exchange new scientific information, at the same time trying to establish a common language which could overcome the barriers imposed by the technical terms of the various specialized fields.
• European Space Agency :
  In 1983, Léon Van Hove was invited to join the Survey Committee of ESA which had the task of preparing ESA's long term programme in Space Science (Horizon 2000 Programme). This Committee wanted to strengthen the links between space physics and particle physics. In 1984, he accepted the role of Chairman of the Science Programme Committee until 1987. Later, he refused the offer to chair the Space Science Advisory Committee, arguing that his knowledge of the science of space missions was not good enough and could not justify his taking that position.
• Conclusion
  Léon Van Hove developed his scientific career from mathematics, the main subject of his studies and his early work, over solid state physics, elementary particle and nuclear physics to cosmology. His work was placed in a double context: the reconstruction of scientific Europe (after 1945, the centre of world scientific activities seemed centred in USA) and the progress of theoretical physics.
  He was a man of great culture, with a wide field of interest in art and literature as well as the sciences. He spoke many languages fluently (French, Dutch, English, German, Flemish) and had a university career spanning several countries. His outstanding achievements as a scientist were internationally recognised by several prestigious prizes (Heinemann Prize in 1962, the Max Planck Gold Medal in 1974) and many academic distinctions (Foreign Member of the Koninklijke Vlaamse Akademie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten, Bruxelles ; Associate Member of the Academie Royale de Belgique, Bruxelles ; Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston ;...).
  Léon Van Hove died on 2nd September 1990 at the age of 66.
  * Source: 
  "The legacy of Léon Van Hove" edited by Alberto Giovannini, World Scientific Series in 20th Century Physics - Vol.28, World Scientific Publishing, Singapore, 2000
  "Léon Van Hove 1924-1990" by C. Rubbia, V. Soergel, M. Jacob, R. Bonnet and G. Dôme, CERN Publications, Geneva, 1990

• Schmal, Helga
• Santolines, J-P F

Nothing was destroyed.

No further accruals are expected.

The collection is catalogued in two sections: "DGR" items and "Léon Van Hove" items. Each part has its own classification plan covering : general matters, correspondence and CERN items (internal organisation, theory and experiments, collaborations, communication policy, staff, finances and others). The "Max-Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in Munich" items are catalogued at the end of "Léon Van Hove" section.

See file level description and the CERN operational circular No 3: rules applicable to archival material and archiving at CERN. In general, records on any subject that are over 30 years old, and all records of a purely scientific nature, may be consulted.

Copyright is retained by CERN, no reproduction without permission.

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Description prepared by Marie Lefeuvre. Geneva, the 6th September 2002, Revised 2007.

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