Enrico Fermi

1901-1954

Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist, particularly remembered for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics.

Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938 for his work on induced radioactivity, Fermi is widely regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 20th century, highly accomplished in both theory and experiment.

Fermium, a synthetic element created in 1952, the Fermi National Accelerator Lab, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and a type of particles called fermions are named after him.