Street, J. C.

Street, J. C. (Jabez Curry) (1906–89) physicist; born in Opelika, Ala. He worked as an electrical engineer (1927–28), then joined the Bartol Foundation (1931–32) before beginning his lifelong investigations of cosmic rays at Harvard (1932–76) and, concurrently, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1941–45). Best known for his codiscovery (with E. C. Stevenson) of the muon, a chief component of cosmic rays, he also made major contributions to studies of particle physics, ionization and cloud chambers, radar, and electrical discharges in gases.