Lewis M. Branscomb

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Lewis McAdory Branscomb
6th Director of the National Bureau of Standards
In office 1969–1972
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Allen V. Astin
Succeeded by	Richard W. Roberts
Personal details
Born	(1926-08-17)August 17, 1926 Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	May 31, 2023(2023-05-31) (aged 96) Redwood City, California, U.S.
Parent	Harvie Branscomb
Relatives	Lewis C. Branscomb (paternal grandfather)
Alma mater	Duke University Harvard University
Website	www.branscomb.org/lewis.html
Scientific career
Fields	Physics
Institutions	National Bureau of Standards IBM Corporation Harvard University
Thesis	Anomalous rotation of molecules with applications to the temperature of the upper atmosphere, and a note on maximizing the ratio of "signal to noise" in spectrophotometry of weak light sources (1950)
Doctoral advisor	Donald Howard Menzel

Lewis McAdory Branscomb (August 17, 1926 – May 31, 2023) was an American physicist, government policy advisor, and corporate research manager. He was best known for being head of the National Bureau of Standards and, later, chief scientist of IBM; and as a prolific writer on science policy issues.