Samuel C. C. Ting

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Samuel C. C. Ting

| native_name = 丁肇中

| image = Samuel Ting 2023.jpg

| caption = Ting in 2023

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1936|1|27}}

| birth_place = Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.

| thesis_title = An Investigation of Pion-Proton Interactions at High Energies

| thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/openview/1acf57571809284d34494406dea9e120/1?cbl=18750&diss=y&pq-origsite=gscholar

| thesis_year = 1962

| doctoral_advisor = Lawrence W. Jones
Martin Lewis Perl

| known_for = Discovery of the J/ψ particle
Founder of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment

| website = {{URL|https://physics.mit.edu/faculty/samuel-ting/|Samuel Ting}}

| spouse = Kay Kuhne (divorced)
Susan Marks

| children = 3

| field = Physics

| work_institution = Columbia University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

| prizes = Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award (1975)
Nobel Prize for Physics (1976)
{{nowrap|Eringen Medal (1977)}}
De Gasperi Award (1988)
Gold Medal for Science from Brescia (1988)
NASA Public Service Medal (2001)

| module = {{Infobox Chinese

|child = yes

|c = 丁肇中

|p = Dīng Zhàozhōng

|w =Ting¹ Chao⁴-chung¹

}}

| education = National Cheng Kung University
University of Michigan (BS, BS, MS, PhD)

}}

Chao Chung Ting ({{zh |c = 丁肇中 |p =Dīng Zhàozhōng}}, born January 27, 1936), also known by his English name Samuel, is a Taiwanese-American physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1976 with Burton Richter for discovering the subatomic J/ψ particle. He is the Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Early life and education

Ting was born on January 27, 1936, at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to first generation immigrant parents from Ju County, Shandong, province.{{Cite journal|url=https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.5.031142/full/|doi=10.1063/PT.5.031142|title=Samuel Ting|journal=Physics Today|year=2016|access-date=May 27, 2020|archive-date=February 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206220355/https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.5.031142/full/|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}} His parents, Kuan-hai Ting and Tsun-ying Wong, met and married as graduate students at the University of Michigan.{{cite book |last = Ng |first = Franklin |title = The Asian American encyclopedia |url = https://archive.org/details/asianamericanenc05ngfr |url-access = registration |year = 1995 |publisher = Marshall Cavendish |isbn = 978-1-85435-684-0 |pages = [https://archive.org/details/asianamericanenc05ngfr/page/n27 1], 490 }} When Ting was born, his parents had just earned their master's degrees from the University of Michigan and his father, a civil engineer, had received a professorship at the China University of Mining and Technology.{{Sfn|Wang|Zhao|Park|2013|p=1113}}

Ting's parents returned to China two months after his birth where Ting was homeschooled by his parents throughout WWII. After the communist takeover of the mainland that forced the nationalist government to flee to Taiwan, Ting moved to the island in 1949. He would live there as a Taiwanese waishengren from 1949 to 1956 and conducted most of his formal schooling there.{{Cite web |last=Boebel |first=Chris |date=2011-09-06 |title=MIT 150: Samuel C.C. Ting |url=https://infinite.mit.edu/video/samuel-cc-ting-0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418230918/https://infinite.mit.edu/video/samuel-cc-ting-0 |archive-date=April 18, 2021 |access-date=2021-03-01 |website=InfiniteMIT |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology}} His father started to teach engineering and his mother would teach psychology at National Taiwan University (NTU). Ting attended and finished Middle School in Taiwan.{{Cite web |date=2003 |title=About The Programs - Personal Journeys: Samuel C.C. Ting |url=https://www.pbs.org/becomingamerican/ap_pjourneys_bio2.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143912/https://www.pbs.org/becomingamerican/ap_pjourneys_bio2.html |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=June 2, 2014 |website=Samuel C.C. Ting - Studying in America |series=The Chinese Experience |publisher=PBS}} After graduating from Cheng Kung Senior High School in Taipei, he entered National Cheng Kung University, where he remained for one semester of study.{{Cite web |last=China (Taiwan) |first=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of |date=1976-12-01 |title=Culture, science and education |url=https://taiwantoday.tw/news_amp.php?unit=12&post=22981&unitname=Society-Taiwan-Review&postname=Culture,-science-and-education |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=Taiwan Today |language=en}}

In 1956, Ting, who barely spoke English, returned to the United States at the age of 20 and attended the University of Michigan. He studied engineering, mathematics, and physics, completing his bachelor's degrees, master's degree, and doctorate in only six years. He earned two Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees in engineering, mathematics, and physics in 1959, a Master of Science (M.S.) in physics in 1960, and his Ph.D. in physics in 1962.{{Cite web |title=Samuel C.C. Ting » MIT Physics |url=https://physics.mit.edu/faculty/samuel-ting/ |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=MIT Physics |language=en-US |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202210748/https://physics.mit.edu/faculty/samuel-ting/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=McAlpine |first=Kate |date=2018-02-28 |title=Q&A with Samuel Ting |url=https://news.engin.umich.edu/2018/02/qa-with-samuel-ting/ |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=Engineering Research News, University of Michigan College of Engineering |language=en-US |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202210749/https://news.engin.umich.edu/2018/02/qa-with-samuel-ting/ |url-status=live }} His doctoral studies were funded by a grant by the United States Atomic Energy Commission.[https://mediatheque.lindau-nobel.org/laureates/ting/research-profile Linda Nobel Laureate]

Career

In 1963, Ting worked at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). From 1965, he taught at Columbia University in the City of New York and worked at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Germany. Since 1969, Ting has been a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Ting received the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award in 1976, Nobel Prize in Physics in 1976, Eringen Medal in 1977, DeGaspari Award in Science from the Government of Italy in 1988, Gold Medal for Science from Brescia, Italy in 1988, and the NASA Public Service Medal in 2001.

Nobel Prize

In 1976, Ting was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, which he shared with Burton Richter of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, for the discovery of the J/ψ meson nuclear particle. They were chosen for the award, in the words of the Nobel committee, "for their pioneering work in the discovery of a heavy elementary particle of a new kind."{{cite web

|url = https://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1976/

|title = The Nobel Prize in Physics 1976

|publisher = nobelprize.org

|access-date = October 9, 2009

|archive-date = August 26, 2009

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090826122728/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1976/

|url-status = live

}} The discovery was made in 1974 when Ting was heading a research team at MIT exploring new regimes of high energy particle physics.

{{cite journal

|journal = Physical Review Letters

|volume = 33 |issue = 23 |pages = 1404–1406

|year = 1974

|title = Experimental Observation of a Heavy Particle J

|doi = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.33.1404

|bibcode = 1974PhRvL..33.1404A

|last1 = Aubert |first1 = J. J. |display-authors=etal |doi-access = free }}

Ting gave his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in Mandarin. Although there had been Chinese Nobel Prize recipients before (Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang), none had previously delivered the acceptance speech in Chinese. In his Nobel banquet speech, Ting emphasized the importance of experimental work:

: In reality, a theory in natural science cannot be without experimental foundations; physics, in particular, comes from experimental work. I hope that awarding the Nobel Prize to me will awaken the interest of students from the developing nations so that they will realize the importance of experimental work.{{Cite web |url = https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1976/ting-speech.html |title = Samuel C.C.Ting - Banquet Speech |date = December 10, 1976 |access-date = June 1, 2014 |website = Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. |archive-date = July 30, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140730003501/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1976/ting-speech.html |url-status = live }}

Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

{{Main|Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer|l1=Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer}}

File:Samuel Chao Chung Ting.jpg

In 1995, not long after the cancellation of the Superconducting Super Collider project had severely reduced the possibilities for experimental high-energy physics on Earth, Ting proposed the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a space-borne cosmic-ray detector. The proposal was accepted and he became the principal investigator and has been directing the development since then. A prototype, AMS-01, was flown and tested on Space Shuttle mission STS-91 in 1998. The main mission, AMS-02, was then planned for launch by the Shuttle and mounting on the International Space Station.{{cite web

|url = http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/AMS-02.html

|title = Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer - 02 (AMS-02)

|publisher = NASA

|date = August 21, 2009

|access-date = September 3, 2009

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090816041406/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/AMS-02.html

|archive-date = August 16, 2009

}}

This project is a massive $2 billion undertaking involving 500 scientists from 56 institutions and 16 countries.{{cite web

|url = http://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/home/spacenews/files/6fcbc1ea9b60fae967984afc741cb2e3-245.html

|title = Endeavour astronauts install $2 billion cosmic ray detector

|publisher = cbsnews.com

|date = May 19, 2011

|access-date = April 18, 2019

|author = William Harwood

|archive-date = March 7, 2021

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210307024012/http://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/home/spacenews/files/6fcbc1ea9b60fae967984afc741cb2e3-245.html

|url-status = live

}} After the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, NASA announced that the Shuttle was to be retired by 2010 and that AMS-02 was not on the manifest of any of the remaining Shuttle flights. Dr. Ting was forced to (successfully) lobby the United States Congress and the public to secure an additional Shuttle flight dedicated to this project. Also during this time, Ting had to deal with numerous technical problems in fabricating and qualifying the large, extremely sensitive and delicate detector module for space.{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7475708/ |title=NASA Presents: AMS - The Fight for Flight |website=IMDb |access-date=April 18, 2019 |archive-date=October 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024131153/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt7475708/ |url-status=live }} AMS-02 was successfully launched on Shuttle mission STS-134 on May 16, 2011, and was installed on the International Space Station on May 19, 2011.{{cite web

|url = http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/090902-tw-antimatter-hunter.html

|title = Space Station Experiment to Hunt Antimatter Galaxies

|publisher = Space.com

|date = September 2, 2009

|author = Jeremy Hsu

|access-date = September 2, 2009

|archive-date = October 6, 2009

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091006020704/http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/090902-tw-antimatter-hunter.html

|url-status = live

}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/science/space/17dark.html |title=A Costly Quest for the Dark Heart of the Cosmos (New York Times, November 16, 2010) |work=The New York Times |date=November 17, 2010 |access-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404220425/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/science/space/17dark.html |url-status=live |last1=Overbye |first1=Dennis }}

Research

Discovery of nuclear anti-matter (the anti-deuteron).{{Cite journal |author=Dorfan, D. E |date=June 1965 |title=Observation of Antideuterons |journal=Phys. Rev. Lett. |volume=14 |issue=24 |pages=1003–1006 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.14.1003 |last2=Eades |first2=J. |last3=Lederman |first3=L. M. |last4=Lee |first4=W. |last5=Ting |first5=C. C. |bibcode=1965PhRvL..14.1003D}}{{cite journal

|title=Observation of Antideuterons

|journal=Phys. Rev. Lett.

|volume=14

|number=24

|pages=1003–1006

|year=1965

|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.14.1003

|last1=Dorfan

|first1=D. E.

|last2=Eades

|first2=J.

|last3=Lederman

|first3=L. M.

|last4=Lee

|first4=W.

|last5=Ting

|first5=C. C.

|bibcode=1965PhRvL..14.1003D

}}

Measuring the size of the electron family (the electron, the muon, and the tau) showing that the electron family has zero size (with a radius smaller than 10⁻¹⁷ cm).{{cite journal|last1=Asbury|first1=J. G.|last2=Bertram|first2=W. K.|last3=Becker|first3=U.|last4=Joos|first4=P.|last5=Rohde|first5=M.|last6=Smith|first6=A. J. S.|last7=Friedlander|first7=S.|last8=Jordan|first8=C.|last9=Ting|first9=C. C.|title=Validity of Quantum Electrodynamics at Small Distances|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=18|issue=2|year=1967|pages=65–70|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.18.65|bibcode=1967PhRvL..18...65A|s2cid=120873954|url=http://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/321849/files/PhysRevLett.18.65.pdf|access-date=September 27, 2020|archive-date=June 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612223842/http://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/321849/files/PhysRevLett.18.65.pdf|url-status=live}}
Precision study of light rays and massive light rays showing that light rays and massive light rays (vector mesons) can transform into each other at high energies and providing a critical verification of the quark model.{{cite journal|last1=Asbury|first1=J. G.|last2=Becker|first2=U.|last3=Bertram|first3=William K.|last4=Joos|first4=P.|last5=Rohde|first5=M.|last6=Smith|first6=A. J. S.|last7=Jordan|first7=C. L.|last8=Ting|first8=Samuel C. C.|title=Leptonic Decays of Vector Mesons: The Branching Ratio of the Electron-Positron Decay Mode of the Rho Meson|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=19|issue=15|year=1967|pages=869–872|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.19.869|bibcode=1967PhRvL..19..869A|s2cid=198471242|url=http://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/321846/files/PhysRevLett.19.869.pdf|access-date=September 24, 2019|archive-date=September 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924082725/http://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/321846/files/PhysRevLett.19.869.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last1=Asbury|first1=J. G.|last2=Bertram|first2=William K.|last3=Becker|first3=U.|last4=Joos|first4=P.|last5=Rohde|first5=M.|last6=Smith|first6=A. J. S.|last7=Friedlander|first7=S.|last8=Jordan|first8=C. L.|last9=Ting|first9=Samuel C. C.|title=Photoproduction of Wide-Angle Electron-Positron Pairs at High Energies|journal=Physical Review|volume=161|issue=5|year=1967|pages=1344–1355|issn=0031-899X|doi=10.1103/PhysRev.161.1344|bibcode=1967PhRv..161.1344A|s2cid=121002799|url=http://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/search?p=id:%22PUBDB-2017-02779%22|access-date=September 27, 2020|archive-date=June 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617210228/http://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/search?p=id:%22PUBDB-2017-02779%22|url-status=live}}
Precision measurement of the radius of the atomic nuclei.{{cite journal|last1=Alvensleben|first1=H.|display-authors=etal|title=Validity of Quantum Electrodynamics at Extremely Small Distances|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=21|issue=21|year=1968|pages=1501–1503|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.21.1501|bibcode=1968PhRvL..21.1501A|url=https://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/322015|access-date=September 27, 2020|archive-date=February 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222035212/http://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/322015|url-status=live}}
Discovery of a new kind of matter (the J particle){{cite journal

|title=Experimental Observation of a Heavy Particle J

|journal=Phys. Rev. Lett.

|volume=33

|number=23

|pages=1404–1406

|year=1974

|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.33.1404

|last1=Aubert

|first1=J. J.

|display-authors=etal

|bibcode=1974PhRvL..33.1404A

|doi-access=free

}} at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The Nobel Prize was awarded to Ting for this discovery.

Discovery of the gluon (the particle responsible for transmitting the nuclear force).{{cite journal|display-authors=etal|last1=Barber|first1=D. |title=Discovery of Three-Jet Events and a Test of Quantum Chromodynamics at PETRA|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=43|issue=12|year=1979|pages=830–833|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.43.830|bibcode=1979PhRvL..43..830B|s2cid=13903005 }}
A systematic study of the properties of gluons.{{cite journal|display-authors=etal|last1=Barber|first1=D.P.|title=Tests of quantum chromodynamics and a direct measurement of the strong coupling constant αs at √s=30 GeV|journal=Physics Letters B|volume=89|issue=1|year=1979|pages=139–144|issn=0370-2693|doi=10.1016/0370-2693(79)90092-3|bibcode=1979PhLB...89..139B}}
A precision measurement of muon charge asymmetry, demonstrating for the first time the validity of the Standard Electroweak Model (Steven Weinberg, Sheldon Glashow and Abdus Salam).{{cite journal|display-authors=etal|last1=Barber|first1=D.P.|title=Unique solution for the weak neutral current coupling constants in purely leptonic interactions|journal=Physics Letters B|volume=95|issue=1|year=1980|pages=149–153|issn=0370-2693|doi=10.1016/0370-2693(80)90420-7|bibcode=1980PhLB...95..149B}}
Determination of the number of electron families and neutrino species in the Universe and the precision verification of the Electroweak Unification Theory.{{cite journal|display-authors=etal|last1=Adeva|first1=B.|title=Measurement of Z0 decays to hadrons, and a precise determination of the number of neutrino species|journal=Physics Letters B|volume=237|issue=1|year=1990|pages=136–146|issn=0370-2693|doi=10.1016/0370-2693(90)90476-M|bibcode=1990PhLB..237..136A|hdl=2027.42/28683|hdl-access=free}}
Proposed, constructed and leads the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) experiment on the International Space Station involving the participation of a 16 nation collaboration searching for the existence of antimatter, the origin of dark matter and the properties of cosmic rays.{{cite journal|display-authors=etal|last1=Ahlen|first1=S.|title=An antimatter spectrometer in space|journal=Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment|volume=350|issue=1–2|year=1994|pages=351–367|issn=0168-9002|doi=10.1016/0168-9002(94)91184-3|bibcode=1994NIMPA.350..351A}}{{cite journal|display-authors=etal|last1=Aguilar|title=The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the International Space Station: Part I – results from the test flight on the space shuttle|journal=Physics Reports|volume=366|issue=6|year=2002|pages=331–405|issn=0370-1573|doi=10.1016/S0370-1573(02)00013-3|bibcode=2002PhR...366..331A|s2cid=122726107 }}
Development of the first large superconducting magnet for space application.
AMS results, based on nine years in space and more than 160 billion cosmic rays, have changed our understanding of the cosmos.{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=First Result from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station: Precision Measurement of the Positron Fraction in Primary Cosmic Rays of 0.5–350 GeV|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=110|issue=14|year=2013|page=141102|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.141102|pmid=25166975|bibcode=2013PhRvL.110n1102A|doi-access=free|hdl=1721.1/81241|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Accardo|first=L.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=High Statistics Measurement of the Positron Fraction in Primary Cosmic Rays of 0.5–500 GeV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=113|issue=12|year=2014|page=121101|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.121101|pmid=25279616|bibcode=2014PhRvL.113l1101A|doi-access=free|hdl=1721.1/90505|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Electron and Positron Fluxes in Primary Cosmic Rays Measured with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=113|issue=12|year=2014|page=121102|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.121102|pmid=25279617|bibcode=2014PhRvL.113l1102A|hdl=1721.1/90426|s2cid=2585508|url=http://cds.cern.ch/record/1756487 |hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Precision Measurement of the (e++e−) Flux in Primary Cosmic Rays from 0.5 GeV to 1 TeV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=113|issue=22|year=2014|page=221102|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.221102|pmid=25494065|bibcode=2014PhRvL.113v1102A|doi-access=free|hdl=11365/981933|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Precision Measurement of the Proton Flux in Primary Cosmic Rays from Rigidity 1 GV to 1.8 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=114|issue=17|year=2015|page=171103|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.171103|pmid=25978222|bibcode=2015PhRvL.114q1103A|doi-access=free|hdl=10400.26/26836|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Precision Measurement of the Helium Flux in Primary Cosmic Rays of Rigidities 1.9 GV to 3 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=115|issue=21|year=2015|page=211101|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.211101|pmid=26636836|bibcode=2015PhRvL.115u1101A|doi-access=free|hdl=10400.26/26975|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Antiproton Flux, Antiproton-to-Proton Flux Ratio, and Properties of Elementary Particle Fluxes in Primary Cosmic Rays Measured with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=117|issue=9|year=2016|page=091103|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.091103|pmid=27610839|bibcode=2016PhRvL.117i1103A|doi-access=free|hdl=1721.1/109505|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Precision Measurement of the Boron to Carbon Flux Ratio in Cosmic Rays from 1.9 GV to 2.6 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=117|issue=23|year=2016|page=231102|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.231102|pmid=27982618|bibcode=2016PhRvL.117w1102A|doi-access=free|hdl=1721.1/106916|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Observation of the Identical Rigidity Dependence of He, C, and O Cosmic Rays at High Rigidities by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=119|issue=25|year=2017|page=251101|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.251101|pmid=29303302|bibcode=2017PhRvL.119y1101A|doi-access=free|hdl=10400.26/27534|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Observation of New Properties of Secondary Cosmic Rays Lithium, Beryllium, and Boron by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=120|issue=2|year=2018|page=021101|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.021101|pmid=29376729|bibcode=2018PhRvL.120b1101A|doi-access=free|hdl=10400.26/27558|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Observation of Fine Time Structures in the Cosmic Proton and Helium Fluxes with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=121|issue=5|year=2018|page=051101|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.051101|pmid=30118264|bibcode=2018PhRvL.121e1101A|doi-access=free|hdl=11511/28440|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Observation of Complex Time Structures in the Cosmic-Ray Electron and Positron Fluxes with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=121|issue=5|year=2018|page=051102|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.051102|pmid=30118287|bibcode=2018PhRvL.121e1102A|doi-access=free|hdl=10400.26/27696|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Precision Measurement of Cosmic-Ray Nitrogen and its Primary and Secondary Components with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=121|issue=5|year=2018|page=051103|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.051103|pmid=30118280|bibcode=2018PhRvL.121e1103A|doi-access=free|hdl=10400.26/27698|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Towards Understanding the Origin of Cosmic-Ray Positrons|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=122|issue=4|year=2019|page=041102|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.041102|pmid=30768313|bibcode=2019PhRvL.122d1102A|doi-access=free|hdl=11572/226282|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Towards Understanding the Origin of Cosmic-Ray Electrons|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=122|issue=10|year=2019|page=101101|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.101101|pmid=30932626|bibcode=2019PhRvL.122j1101A|doi-access=free|hdl=11572/230954|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last1=Aguilar|first1=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Properties of Cosmic Helium Isotopes Measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=123|issue=18|year=2019|page=181102|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.181102|pmid=31763896|bibcode=2019PhRvL.123r1102A|doi-access=free|hdl=1721.1/133438|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last=Aguilar|first=M.|collaboration=AMS Collaboration|title=Properties of Neon, Magnesium, and Silicon Primary Cosmic Rays Results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=124|issue=21|year=2020|page=211102|issn=0031-9007|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.211102|pmid=32530660|bibcode=2020PhRvL.124u1102A|doi-access=free|hdl=1721.1/133557.2|hdl-access=free}}

Honors and awards

= Major Awards =

Nobel Prize for Physics (1976)
Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award (U.S. government)
Eringen Medal (the Society of Engineering Science)
DeGaspari Award in Science (Italian government)
NASA Public Service Medal
Erice Prize for Peace (World Federation of Scientists)
Gold Medal for Science (Italy)
Award for Compelling Results in Physical Sciences (2017, NASA)
Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement{{cite web|title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement|website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration|access-date=May 22, 2020|archive-date=December 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration|url-status=live}}
Golden Leopard Award for Excellence, Taormina, Italy
Homi Bhabha Medal and Prize (2023)

= Member or Foreign Member of Scientific Academies =

United States National Academy of Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Soviet Academy of Science
Russian Academy of Sciences
Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina (Germany)
Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Pakistan Academy of Sciences
Academia Sinica
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Honorary Fellow of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

= Doctor Honoris Causa degrees =

Personal life

Ting lived in a turbulent age during his childhood and his family was a big influence on him. In his biographical for the Nobel Prize, he recalled:

: Since both my parents were working, I was brought up by my maternal grandmother. My maternal grandfather lost his life during the first Chinese Revolution. After that, at the age of thirty-three, my grandmother decided to go to school, became a teacher, and brought my mother up alone. When I was young I often heard stories from my mother and grandmother recalling the difficult lives they had during that turbulent period and the efforts they made to provide my mother with a good education. Both of them were daring, original, and determined people, and they have left an indelible impression on me.

: When I was twenty years old I decided to return to the United States for a better education. My parents' friend, G.G. Brown, Dean of the School of Engineering, University of Michigan, told my parents I would be welcome to stay with him and his family. At that time I knew very little English and had no idea of the cost of living in the United States. In China, I had read that many American students go through college on their own resources. I informed my parents that I would do likewise. I arrived at the Detroit airport on 6 September 1956 with $100, which at the time seemed more than adequate. I was somewhat frightened, did not know anyone, and communication was difficult.{{cite web |url = https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1976/ting-bio.html |title = Samuel C.C. Ting - Biographical |date = 1976 |access-date = June 3, 2014 |website = Nobel prizes and laureates |publisher = Nobel Foundation |archive-date = July 30, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140730020914/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1976/ting-bio.html |url-status = live }}

Ting is the eldest son of his family. He has one brother, Ting Chao-hua ({{lang|zh-hant|丁肇華}}) and one sister, Ting Chao-min ({{lang|zh-hant|丁肇民}}). In an interview with China Central Television, he explained that the combination of his siblings' and his name is the first three characters of "{{lang|zh-hant|中華民國}}" (Republic of China). His parents named them after the country to commemorate their grandfather, who was a martyr in the Xinhai Revolution.{{cite web|title=丁肇中（下）|url=http://tv.people.com.cn/GB/39805/10166135.html|work=《大家》|publisher=Renmin Ribao|access-date=2013-01-27|language=zh-hans|archive-date=March 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321232358/http://tv.people.com.cn/GB/39805/10166135.html|url-status=dead}}

In 1960, Ting married Kay Louise Kuhne, an architect, and together they had two daughters: Jeanne Ting Chowning and Amy Ting. In 1985, he married Dr. Susan Carol Marks, and they had one son, Christopher, born in 1986. Ting also has two grandchildren, and three great-nieces and nephews, one of which include Ella S. Ting.{{Cite web |title=Obituary information for John C. Ting |url=https://www.edwardsdowdle.com/obituaries/John-C-Ting?obId=33656119 |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.edwardsdowdle.com |language=en}}

Selected publications

{{cite journal

|last1=Aguilar |first1=M.

|display-authors=etal

|collaboration=AMS Collaboration

|year=2019

|title=Towards Understanding the Origin of Cosmic-Ray Positrons

|journal=Phys. Rev. Lett.

|volume=122 |number=4 |pages=041102

|bibcode=2019PhRvL.122d1102A

|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.041102

|doi-access=free

|pmid=30768313

|hdl=11572/226282

|hdl-access=free

}}

{{cite journal

|last1=Aguilar |first1=M.

|display-authors=etal

|collaboration=AMS Collaboration

|year=2013

|title=First Result from the AMS on the International Space Station: Precision Measurement of the Positron Fraction in Primary Cosmic Rays of 0.5-350 GeV

|journal=Phys. Rev. Lett.

|volume=110 |number=14 |pages=141102

|bibcode=2013PhRvL.110n1102A

|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.141102

|doi-access=free

|pmid=25166975

|hdl=1721.1/81241

|hdl-access=free

}}

{{cite journal

|last1=Adriani |first1=O.

|display-authors=etal

|collaboration=L3 Collaboration

|year=1992

|title=Determination of the number of light neutrino species

|url=http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/73124

|journal=Phys. Lett. B

|volume=292 |number=3–4 |pages=463–471

|bibcode=1992PhLB..292..463A

|doi=10.1016/0370-2693(92)91204-M

|hdl=2066/26827

|hdl-access=free

}}

{{cite journal

|last=Adeva |first=B.

|display-authors=etal

|year=1982

|title=Measurement of Charge Asymmetry in e⁺ e⁻→μ⁺+μ⁻

|journal=Phys. Rev. Lett.

|volume=48 |number=25 |pages=1701–1704

|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.48.1701

|url=http://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/323467

}}

{{cite journal

|last1=Barber |first1=D.P.

|display-authors=etal

|year=1979

|title=Tests of quantum chromodynamics and a direct measurement of the strong coupling constant α_s at √s=30 GeV

|journal=Phys. Lett. B

|volume=89 |number=1 |pages=139–144

|bibcode=1979PhLB...89..139B

|doi=10.1016/0370-2693(79)90092-3

}}

{{cite journal

|last1=Barber |first1=D. P.

|display-authors=etal

|year=1979

|title=Discovery of Three-Jet Events and a Test of Quantum Chromodynamics at PETRA

|journal=Phys. Rev. Lett.

|volume=43 |number=12 |pages=830–833

|bibcode=1979PhRvL..43..830B

|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.43.830

|s2cid=13903005

}}

{{cite journal

|last1=Aubert |first1=J. J.

|display-authors=etal

|year=1974

|title=Experimental Observation of a Heavy Particle J

|journal=Phys. Rev. Lett.

|volume=33 |number=23 |pages=1404–1406

|bibcode=1974PhRvL..33.1404A

|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.33.1404

|doi-access=free

}}

{{cite journal

|last1=Asbury |first1=J. G.

|last2=Becker |first2=U.

|last3=Bertram |first3=William K.

|last4=Joos |first4=P.

|last5=Rohde |first5=M.

|last6=Smith |first6=A. J. S.

|last7=Jordan |first7=C. L.

|last8=Ting |first8=Samuel C. C.

|year=1967

|title=Leptonic Decays of Vector Mesons: The Branching Ratio of the Electron-Positron Decay Mode of the Rho Meson

|journal=Phys. Rev. Lett.

|volume=19 |number=15 |pages=869–872

|bibcode=1967PhRvL..19..869A

|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.19.869

|s2cid=198471242

|url=http://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/321846/files/PhysRevLett.19.869.pdf

}}

{{cite journal

|last1=Dorfan |first1=D. E.

|last2=Eades |first2=J.

|last3=Lederman |first3=L. M.

|last4=Lee |first4=W.

|last5=Ting |first5=C. C.

|year=1965

|title=Observation of Antideuterons

|journal=Phys. Rev. Lett.

|volume=14 |number=24 |pages=1003–1006

|bibcode=1965PhRvL..14.1003D

|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.14.1003

}}

{{cite journal

|last1=Asbury |first1=J. G.

|last2=Becker |first2=U.

|last3=Bertram |first3=W. K.

|last4=Joos |first4=P.

|last5=Rohde |first5=M.

|last6=Smith |first6=A. J. S.

|last7=Friedlander |first7=S.

|last8=Jordan |first8=C.

|last9=Ting |first9=C. C.

|year=1967

|title=Validity of Quantum Electrodynamics at Small Distances

|journal=Phys. Rev. Lett.

|volume=18 |number=2 |pages=65–70

|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.18.65

|url=http://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/search?p=id:%22PUBDB-2017-02780%22

|bibcode=1967PhRvL..18...65A

|s2cid=120873954

}}

References

= Additional sources =

{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Zuoyue |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6OPNEAAAQBAJ |title=Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History [3 volumes] |date=2013-11-26 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-59884-240-1 |editor-last=Xiaojian |editor-first=Zhao |language=en |chapter=Ting, Samuel Chao Chung (1936–) |ref={{harvid|Wang|Zhao|Park|2013}} |editor-last2=Park |editor-first2=Edward J. W. |chapter-url=https://www.cpp.edu/faculty/zywang/documents/ting-aa.pdf}}

External links

[https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/44898 Interview of Samuel Ting by David Zierler on 2020 July 24,Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics,College Park, MD USA]
{{Nobelprize}} including the Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1976 The Discovery of the J Particle: A Personal Recollection
[http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/ting.html Biography and Bibliographic Resources], from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, United States Department of Energy
[https://web.mit.edu/physics/people/faculty/ting_samuel.html Faculty page at MIT]
[http://nobel-winners.com/Physics/samuel_chao_chung_ting.html Nobel-Winners.com Bio]
[http://pbs.org/becomingamerican/ap_pjourneys_bio2.html PBS bio]
[https://inspirehep.net/author/profile/S.C.C.Ting.1 Scientific publications of Samuel C. C. Ting] on INSPIRE-HEP