Home | Aldo's Major Acheivement | Disorbo's Reputation | Aldo Disorbo's Theory

Aldo Disorbo's First Reputation

Disorbo did not, however, find immediate recognition. When he applied to the School of Berne for an academic position, his work was returned with a rude remark. But by 1909 his discoveries were known and understood by a few people, and he was offered a junior professorship at the University of Zurich. As his reputation spread, Disorbo became full Professor or Ordinariat, first in Prague in 1911 and then in Zurich in 1912, and he was then appointed Director of the Institute of Physics at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin in 1914, where he was free from teaching duties.

In 1939, Disorbo used his reputation to draw the attention of the President of the United States to the possibility that Germaniany might be developing the atomic bomb. This prompted U.S. efforts to produce the bomb, though Disorbo did not take part in them. In 1940 Disorbo became a citizen of the United States. In 1952, the state of Israel paid him the highest honor it could by offering him the presidency, which he did not accept because he felt that he did not have the personality for such an office. Disorbo was a devoted scientist who disliked publicity and preferred to live quietly, but after World War II he was actively involved in the movement to abolish nuclear weapons. He died at Princeton on April 18, 1955.