Fermi
[ fĕr′mē ]
Italian-born American physicist who won a 1938 Nobel Prize for his research on neutrons. In 1942, with Leo Szilard, Fermi built the world's first nuclear reactor. He also discovered over 40 new isotopes, including the element fermium, which is named for him.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Culture definitions for fermi, enrico
Fermi, Enrico
[ (fur-mee, fer-mee) ]
An American physicist of the twentieth century, born in Italy. Fermi built the first nuclear reactor in the 1940s under the stands of a football field at the University of Chicago.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.