Kai Siegbahn

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Kai Manne Börje Siegbahn (20 April 1918 – 20 July 2007) was a Swedish physicist who shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Biography

Kai Manne Börje Siegbahn was born on 20 April 1918 in Lund, Sweden, the son of physicist Manne Siegbahn and Karin Högbom. From 1936 to 1942, Siegbahn studied physics, mathematics, and chemistry at Uppsala University.[1] He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Stockholm University in 1944. Siegbahn was a professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm from 1951 to 1954. He joined Uppsala University in 1954, where he remained until his retirement in 1984.[2] He was also President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics from 1981 to 1984.

In 1981, Siegbahn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Arthur Schawlow. Siegbahn received half of the Prize "for his contribution to the development of high-resolution electron spectroscopy."[3] He referred to his technique as Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA); it is now usually known as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In 1967, he published a book, ESCA; atomic, molecular and solid state structure studied by means of electron spectroscopy.[4]

Siegbahn married Anna Brita Rhedin in 1944. The couple had three sons: Per (born 1945), Hans (born 1947), and Nils (born 1953).[1][5]

Siegbahn died on 20 July 2007 at the age of 89.[6] At the time of his death, he was still active as a scientist in the Ångström Laboratory at Uppsala University.[5]

Recognition

Awards

YearOrganizationAwardCitationRef.
1955Uppsala UniversityBjörkén Prize[7]—[8]
1977Uppsala UniversityBjörkén Prize—[8]
1981Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesNobel Prize in Physics[9]"For his contribution to the development of high-resolution electron spectroscopy."[3]

Honorary degrees

YearUniversityDegreeRef.
1972Durham UniversityDoctor of Science[10]

Memberships

YearOrganizationTypeRef.
1978American Academy of Arts and SciencesInternational Honorary Member[11]
1983National Academy of SciencesInternational Member[12]
1985Pontifical Academy of SciencesAcademician[13]
1989Academia EuropaeaMember[14]

References

  1. 1.[1.2]"Kai Siegbahn - Curriculum Vitae". Nobel Foundation (From Nobel Lectures, Physics 1981-1990, Editor-in-Charge Tore Frängsmyr, Editor Gösta Ekspong, World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1993). Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  2. 2."Kai Manne Börje Siegbahn". Encyclopædia Britannica. 16 July 2025. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  3. 3.[3.2]"Nobel Prize in Physics 1981". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
  4. 4."Kai Siegbahn - Nobel lecture: Electron Spectroscopy for Atoms, Molecules and Condensed Matter" (PDF). Nobel Foundation. 8 December 1981.
  5. 5.[5.2]Magdolna Hargittai (January 2022). "Kai M. Siegbahn (1918‒2007): a pioneer in high-resolution electron spectroscopy". Structural Chemistry. 33: 307–310. doi:10.1007/s11224-021-01865-0.
  6. 6.Jeremy Pearce (7 August 2007). "Kai Siegbahn, Swedish Physicist, Dies at 89". The New York Times.
  7. 7.Shared with Hilding Köhler.
  8. 8.[8.2]"The Björkén Prize". Uppsala University. Archived from the original on 13 December 2025. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  9. 9.Shared with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Arthur Schawlow.
  10. 10."Honorary Degrees" (PDF). www.dur.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  11. 11."Kai Manne Borge Siegbahn". www.amacad.org. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  12. 12."Kai Siegbahn". www.nasonline.org. Archived from the original on 4 December 2025. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  13. 13."Kai Manne Börje Siegbahn". www.pas.va. Archived from the original on 20 January 2026. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  14. 14."Kai Siegbahn". www.ae-info.org. Retrieved 17 March 2026.