Enrico Fermi

Architect of the first nuclear reactor and of the theory of beta decay and weak interactions.

Specifications & Metrics

era

1901 – 1954

nobel prize

Physics, 1938

Core Principles & Analysis

• His 1933 theory of beta decay introduced the weak interaction and gave the neutrino its name.
• Led Chicago Pile-1 to the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction on 2 December 1942.
• Won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for neutron-induced radioactivity and slow-neutron discoveries.