Hugh D. Young

Hugh David Young
Born	(1930-11-03)November 3, 1930 Ames, Iowa
Died	Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Residence	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Citizenship	USA
Fields	Physics
Institutions	Carnegie Mellon University
Alma mater	Carnegie Institute of Technology
Known for	University teaching of physics, and co-author of a classic textbook of university physics
Spouse	Alice Carroll

Hugh David Young (Nov. 3, 1930 – Aug. 20, 2013) was an American physicist who taught physics for 52 years at Carnegie Mellon University. Young is best known for co-authoring the later editions of University Physics, a highly regarded introductory physics textbook, with Francis Sears and Mark Zemansky (this book - first published in 1949 - is often referred to as "Sears and Zemansky", although Hugh Young became a coauthor in 1973).

Young was born on November 3, 1930, in Ames, Iowa, and was raised in Mondamin and Osage, Iowa. He came to Carnegie Mellon as an undergraduate physics major in 1948, and, by 1959, had earned a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and PhD in Physics from the university. He later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in music in 1972, concentrating in organ performance.

Except for brief visiting professorships at the University of California, Berkeley, Young spent 60 years at Carnegie Mellon. He taught more than 18,000 students and attained international prominence as a leading author of physics textbooks, including books on the statistical treatment of data, laboratory techniques, fundamental topics in introductory physics, and a survey text, University Physics on which his collaboration with Sears and Zemansky began in 1973. Now in its 13th edition, University Physics is among the most widely used introductory textbooks in the world. Young also wrote an algebra-based version named Sears and Zemansky's College Physics, which is currently in its 10th edition.

His honors included many of Carnegie Mellon's highest awards — The William H. and Frances S. Ryan Award for Meritorious Teaching (1965), the Carnegie Mellon Alumni Service Award (1995), The Robert E. Doherty Award for Sustained Contributions to Excellence in Education (1997), the Mellon College of Science's Richard Moore Award (1998) and the Andrew Carnegie Society Recognition Award (2007).

Young died at the age of 82 on August 20, 2013 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.