Walter Kohn

Physicist Walter Kohn received the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the density functional theory, which changed how scientists viewed the electronic structure of atoms. As a Holocaust survivor and lifelong pacifist who abhorred the atom bomb, he was driven by the will to find peaceful applications for quantum theory. He continues to research and promote pacifist and environmentalist causes. In 2012, Harvard University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science. Updated 2012