| Michael J. Moravcsik | |
| Birth Date: | June 25, 1928 |
| Birth Place: | Budapest, Hungary |
| Death Date: | April 25, 1989 |
| Death Place: | Turin, Italy |
| Citizenship: | American |
| Nationality: | Hungarian |
| Fields: | High Energy Physics |
| Workplaces: | University of Oregon |
| Alma Mater: | Harvard University, 1951. PhD Cornell University 1956 |
| Doctoral Advisor: | Hans Bethe |
| Awards: | Derek de Solla Price Memorial Medal 1985 |
Michael Julius Alexander Moravcsik (in Hungarian pronounced as /moravt͡ʃik/; Hungarian: Moravcsik Mihály|italic=no; 1928–1989) was a Hungarian-born American theoretical high energy physicist whose areas of research included the two nucleon system, particle spin symmetries. He also made important contributions to the practice and study of science policy in developing nations, scientific methodology, and scientometrics (the science of science), especially the study of citation and citation indices.[1]
Moravcsik began his studies at the University of Budapest, but left Hungary for the US at the age of 20, accompanied by his brother Julius. He completed his BS in physics at Harvard University in 1951 and received his PhD from Cornell University in 1956.[2] He was a research associate at the Brookhaven National Laboratory from 1956 to 1958. He was head of the elementary particle and nuclear theory group, theoretical division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 1958 to 1967. From 1967 until his death, he was a professor of physics at the University of Oregon, at the Institute of Theoretical Science, where he was director from 1969 to 1972.[3] At the time he was a professor of physics at the University of Oregon.[4]
Two journals had memorial issues for Moravcsik: Scientometrics (Volume20, No 1, 1991)[5] and Few Body Systems (Volume 9, No 2-3, 1990) [6]
Moravcsik worked on the nucleon-nucleon interaction in scattering experiments, and the pion-nucleon coupling constant.[7]
He also focused on science policy and its effects in developing countries. He was a science policy advisor to the Ford Foundation, UNESCO, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Science Foundation. In addition, he made important contributions to the field of scientometrics.[3]
Moravcsik was born June 25, 1928, in Budapest.[4] His father, Gyula Moravcsik, was a professor of Greek philology and Byzantine history. His mother, Edit Moravcsik (née Fleissig), assisted her husband and taught language in Budapest. His grandfather, Fleissig Sándor, was a prominent Hungarian banker and politician. His brother was Julius Moravcsik, an academic philosopher who taught at Stanford University. His sister is Edith A. Moravcsik, a noted academic linguist who teaches at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He was married to Francesca Moravcsik and had two children, Andrew Moravcsik, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. His daughter Julia is a cognitive psychologist residing in Boulder, Colorado.[3] He died of an embolism on April 25, 1989, in Turin, Italy, where he was collaborating with a colleague.[4] He has three (posthumous) grandchildren: Michael Edward Hoke Moravcsik, Alexander deGogorza Moravcsik, and Sean Timothy Bowling.
In his spare time, Moravcsik wrote music reviews and was an amateur opera singer.