Laporte, Otto (1902–1971)

German physicist. A pioneer in plasma physics and atomic spectroscopy, he was also a visiting professor in Japan (1928, 1937), and a science attaché with the US Embassy in Tokyo, Japan (1960–63). Laporte was born in Mainz, Germany. He moved to the USA on a postgraduate fellowship to work for the National Bureau of Standards (1924–26), then became a professor at the University of Michigan (1926–71).