Wolfgang Kurt Hermann "Pief" Panofsky (April 24, 1919 – September 24, 2007), was a German-American physicist who won many awards including the National Medal of Science.

in physics from Princeton University, as salutatorian of his class,[3] in 1938 after completing a senior thesis, titled "The construction of a high pressure ionisation chamber", under the supervision of Walker Bleakney.

[5] He then received his Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1942 after completing a doctoral dissertation, titled "A measurement of the value of h/e by the determination of the short wavelength limit of the continuous x-ray spectrum at 20 kV", under the supervision of Jesse W. M.

[citation needed] Panofsky was a member of the board of sponsors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists[9] and won the Matteucci Medal in 1996 for his fundamental contributions to physics.

[10] His elder brother, Hans A. Panofsky, was "an atmospheric scientist who taught at Pennsylvania State University for 30 years and who was credited with several advances in the study of meteorology".