Editing 1996 in science

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{{Year nav topic5|1996|science}}
{{Science year nav|1996}}

The year '''1996 in science''' and technology involved many significant events, listed below.

==Astronomy and space exploration==
[[Image:Dolly clone.svg|thumb|right|250px|The [[cloning]] process that produced [[Dolly (sheep)|Dolly]].]]
* January 30 – [[Comet Hyakutake]] is discovered.<ref>{{cite web|title=Comet Hyakutake in March 1996|url=http://epod.usra.edu/library/comet_011510.html|website=epod.usra.edu|accessdate=20 February 2018}}</ref>
* February 17 – [[NEAR Shoemaker]] [[spacecraft]] launched. The craft landed on [[asteroid]] [[433 Eros]] in [[2001 in science|2001]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Shoemaker|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Near-Earth-Asteroid-Rendezvous-Shoemaker|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=2018-02-20|language=en}}</ref>
* May – First naked-eye observation of [[Comet Hale-Bopp]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/spacewatch/comets.html|website=www.pbs.org|accessdate=20 February 2018}}</ref>
* June 4 – The [[European Space Agency]]'s [[Cluster (spacecraft)|Cluster]] is lost when the maiden flight of the [[Ariane 5]] rocket fails, self-destructing 37 seconds after launch from the [[Guiana Space Centre]] because of a [[software bug]] in the computer control system.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gleick|first=James|title=A Bug and A Crash|url=http://www.around.com/ariane.html|work=New York Times Magazine|accessdate=2012-04-07|date=1996-12-01|archive-date=2012-04-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420204657/http://www.around.com/ariane.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* October 3 – [[Reinhard Genzel]] and [[Andrea Ghez]] demonstrate the existence of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy, later identified as a [[black hole]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Eckart|first1=A.|last2=Genzel|first2=R.|doi=10.1038/383415a0|title=Observations of stellar proper motions near the Galactic Centre|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=383|issue=6599|pages=415|year=1996|bibcode=1996Natur.383..415E|s2cid=4285760|doi-access=free}}</ref>
* November 7 – [[NASA]] launches the ''[[Mars Global Surveyor]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mars Global Surveyor|url=https://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/past/globalsurveyor/|website=mars.nasa.gov|accessdate=20 February 2018}}</ref>
* The second 9.8 m [[reflecting telescope]] opens at [[Keck Observatory]], [[Mauna Kea]], Hawaii.<ref>{{cite web|title=Keck telescopes|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Keck-telescopes|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=20 February 2018|language=en}}</ref>

==Biology==
* July 5 – [[Dolly (sheep)|Dolly]] the [[sheep]], the first [[mammal]] to be successfully [[Cloning|clone]]d from an adult cell, is born at [[The Roslin Institute]] in [[Scotland]].<ref>{{cite web|title=1997: Dolly the sheep is cloned|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/22/newsid_4245000/4245877.stm|website=BBC News|accessdate=20 February 2018|date=22 February 1997}}</ref>
* August 6 – [[NASA]] announces that the [[Allan Hills 84001]] [[meteorite]] thought to originate from [[Mars]], may contain evidence of primitive life-forms;<ref>{{cite web|title=CNN - Ancient meteorite may point to life on Mars - Aug. 7, 1996|url=http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/9608/06/mars.life/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423002616/http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/9608/06/mars.life/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 23, 2010|website=CNN|access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref> further tests are inconclusive.
* The [[yeast]] ''[[Saccharomyces cerevisiae]]'s'' [[genome]] is sequenced, the first eukaryotic genome to be fully sequenced.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1534/g3.113.008995 |pmid=24374639 |pmc=3962479|title=The Reference Genome Sequence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Then and Now|journal=G3|volume=4|issue=3 |pages=389–398 |year=2014 |last1=Engel |first1=Stacia R. |last2=Dietrich |first2=Fred S. |last3=Fisk |first3=Dianna G.|last4=Binkley |first4=Gail |last5=Balakrishnan |first5=Rama |last6=Costanzo |first6=Maria C. |last7=Dwight |first7=Selina S. |last8=Hitz |first8=Benjamin C.|last9=Karra |first9=Kalpana |last10=Nash |first10=Robert S. |last11=Weng |first11=Shuai |last12=Wong |first12=Edith D.|last13=Lloyd|first13=Paul|last14=Skrzypek|first14=Marek S. |last15=Miyasato |first15=Stuart R. |last16=Simison |first16=Matt |last17=Cherry |first17=J. Michael}}</ref>

==Chemistry==
* February 9 – [[Copernicium]] [[discovery of the chemical elements|first created]] at the [[Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung]] in [[Darmstadt]], Germany, by Sigurd Hofmann, [[Victor Ninov]] and others.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF02769517 |title=The new element 112 |journal=Zeitschrift für Physik A |volume=354 |issue=3 |pages=229–230 |year=1996 |last1=Hofmann |first1=S. |last2=Ninov |first2=V. |last3=Heßberger |first3=F. P. |last4=Armbruster |first4=P. |last5=Folger |first5=H. |last6=Münzenberg |first6=G. |last7=Schött |first7=H. J. |last8=Popeko |first8=A. G. |last9=Yeremin |first9=A. V. |last10=Saro |first10=S. |last11=Janik |first11=R. |last12=Leino |first12=M. |bibcode=1996ZPhyA.354..229H |s2cid=119975957 }}</ref>

==Computer science==
* January
** The [[Google Search|Google]] [[web search engine]] originates as "BackRub", a research project using [[PageRank]] by [[Larry Page]] and [[Sergey Brin]], PhD students at [[Stanford University]], [[California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/history.html|title=Our history in depth|publisher=Corporate Information|accessdate=2012-04-16}}</ref>
** First [[USB]] specification issued.
* January 23 – The first version of the [[Java (programming language)|Java programming language]] is released.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Davis|first1=Daniel Paul|title=Hysterically Historical: January II|date=2015|publisher=Booktango|isbn=9781468964226|page=71|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-eZwCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT71|language=en}}</ref>
* February 10 – [[Deep Blue (chess computer)|Deep Blue]] defeats [[chess]] grand-master [[Garry Kasparov]] for the first time.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Newborn|first1=Monty|title=Beyond Deep Blue: Chess in the Stratosphere|date=2011|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9780857293411|pages=7–9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J10kBdYNBNwC&pg=PA7|language=en}}</ref>
* April 3 – [[Jennifer Ringley]] becomes an early practitioner of [[lifecasting (video stream)]], from her dorm room at [[Dickinson College]] in [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Jennicam And The Birth Of 'Lifecasting'|url=http://digg.com/2015/reply-all-jennicam|website=Digg|date=13 April 2015 |accessdate=20 February 2018|language=en}}</ref>
* October – ''[[The Shetland Times]]'' and ''[[The Shetland News]]'' become involved in a landmark legal case over alleged copyright infringement and [[deep linking]] in their [[website]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smartt |first1=Ursula |title=Media & entertainment law |date=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=Abingdon, Oxon |isbn=9781317808169 |page=425 |edition=Second}}</ref>
* The page ranking web search engine RankDex is originated by [[Robin Li]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Greenberg|first=Andy|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/1005/technology-baidu-robin-li-man-whos-beating-google_2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922194042/http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/1005/technology-baidu-robin-li-man-whos-beating-google_2.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 22, 2009|title=The Man Who's Beating Google|journal=[[Forbes]]|date=2009-10-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1109/4236.707687 |title=Toward a qualitative search engine |journal=IEEE Internet Computing |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=24–29 |year=1998 |last1=Yanhong Li |s2cid=14854613 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rankdex.com/about.html|title=About RankDex|publisher=IDD Information Services|accessdate=2014-06-04}}</ref><ref>USPTO,
[http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en&lr=&vid=USPAT5920859&id=x04ZAAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd&dq=yanhong+li&printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q=yanhong%20li&f=false "Hypertext Document Retrieval System and Method"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111205225726/http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en&lr=&vid=USPAT5920859&id=x04ZAAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd&dq=yanhong+li&printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q=yanhong%20li&f=false |date=2011-12-05 }}, US Patent number: 5920859, Inventor: Yanhong Li, Filing date: 5 February 1997, Issue date: 6 July 1999.</ref>
* [[Brewster Kahle]], with [[Bruce Gilliat]], develops the [[Wayback Machine]] software to [[Web crawler|crawl]] and archive [[World Wide Web]] pages.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kahle|first=Brewster|title=Archiving the Internet|url=http://www.uibk.ac.at/voeb/texte/kahle.html|journal=[[Scientific American]]|accessdate=2011-08-19|date=March 1997|archive-date=2012-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403042627/http://www.uibk.ac.at/voeb/texte/kahle.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Lov Grover]], at [[Bell Labs]], publishes the [[Grover's algorithm|quantum database search algorithm]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The first quantum search algorithm on a scalable quantum computer has important implications|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/604068/quantum-computing-now-has-a-powerful-search-tool/|website=MIT Technology Review|accessdate=20 February 2018|language=en}}</ref>
* [[IRCnet]] is founded.<ref>{{cite book|title=Getting information from the IRC system: Linux Basic. AL1-032|publisher=NOITE S.C.|page=5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jSMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PP5|language=pl}}</ref>

==Exploration==
* May 23 – Swede [[Göran Kropp]] reaches [[Mount Everest]] [[topographical summit|summit]] alone without [[oxygen]] after having bicycled there from Sweden.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historical Badass: Goran Kropp, the Man Who Rode to Everest - adventure journal|url=https://www.adventure-journal.com/2016/06/historical-badass-goran-kropp-the-man-who-rode-to-everest/|website=www.adventure-journal.com|accessdate=20 February 2018|archive-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221161458/https://www.adventure-journal.com/2016/06/historical-badass-goran-kropp-the-man-who-rode-to-everest/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Medicine==
* March
** The [[Cochrane Library]] launched.<ref>{{cite web|title=About the Cochrane Library|url=http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/view/0/AboutTheCochraneLibrary.html#ABOUT|publisher=The [[Cochrane Library]]|accessdate=2011-01-25|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105124021/http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/view/0/AboutTheCochraneLibrary.html#ABOUT|archivedate=2011-01-05|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** The role of [[CCR5]] in [[HIV/AIDS]] infection begins to be published.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Samson|first1=M.|last2=Labbe|first2=O.|display-authors=1|title=Molecular cloning and functional expression of a new human CC-chemokine receptor gene|journal=[[Biochemistry (journal)|Biochemistry]]|volume=35|issue=11|pages=3362–7|date=March 1996|pmid=8639485|doi=10.1021/bi952950g}}</ref>
* July 7–12 – [[XI International AIDS Conference, 1996]], [[Vancouver]], reports major advances in the [[management of HIV/AIDS]] including [[combination therapy]] (the "triple cocktail") using [[Protease inhibitor (pharmacology)|protease inhibitor]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|first=S. M.|last=Hammer|display-authors=etal|title=A controlled trial of two nucleoside analogues plus indinavir in persons with human immunodeficiency virus infection|journal=[[The New England Journal of Medicine]]|volume=337|issue=11|pages=725–33|date=September 1997|pmid=9287227|doi=10.1056/NEJM199709113371101|s2cid=24043435 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Within a week after the conference, over 75,000 patients who have been using antibiotics and chemotherapy as treatment against [[opportunistic infections]] begin an effective antiviral regimen which greatly increases their immune system strength and therefore their health.<ref>{{cite book|last=Engel|first=Jonathan|title=The Epidemic|year=2006|publisher=Smithsonian Books/Collins|location=New York|isbn=978-0-06-114488-2|page=246|url=https://archive.org/details/epidemicaglobalh00enge/page/246}}</ref>
* New variant [[Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease]] first identified in humans, in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(96)91412-9 |pmid=8598754 |title=A new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the UK |journal=The Lancet |volume=347 |issue=9006 |pages=921–925 |year=1996 |last1=Will |first1=R. G.|last2=Ironside |first2=J. W.|last3=Zeidler |first3=M. |last4=Estibeiro |first4=K. |last5=Cousens |first5=S. N.|last6=Smith |first6=P. G.|last7=Alperovitch |first7=A. |last8=Poser |first8=S. |last9=Pocchiari |first9=M. |last10=Hofman |first10=A. |s2cid=14230097 }}</ref>
* [[Montreal Cognitive Assessment]] is created by [[Ziad Nasreddine]] in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Nasreddine|first=Z. S.|display-authors=etal|title=The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA: a brief screening tool for mild cognitive impairment|journal=Journal of the American Geriatrics Society|volume=53|issue=4|pages=695–9|year=2005|pmid=15817019|doi=10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53221.x|s2cid=9014589}}</ref>
* [[Donepezil]] (Aricept), a palliative treatment for moderate [[Alzheimer's disease]], is [[Approved drug|approved]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/03738-4 |chapter=Alzheimer's Disease: Antidementive Drugs |title=International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences |pages=418–423 |year=2001 |last1=Hofmann |first1=M. |last2=Hock |first2=C. |isbn=9780080430768 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-012351830-9/50034-2 |chapter=Cholinergic Treatments of Alzheimer's Disease |title=Functional Neurobiology of Aging |pages=475–486 |year=2001 |last1=Tsopelas |first1=Nicholas D. |last2=Marin |first2=Deborah B. |isbn=9780123518309 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B0-08-045044-X/00168-1 |chapter=Neurodegeneration |title=Comprehensive Medicinal Chemistry II |pages=193–228 |year=2007 |last1=Bozyczko-Coyne |first1=D. |last2=Williams |first2=M. |isbn=9780080450445 }}</ref>
* [[Sildenafil]] (Viagra), a treatment for [[erectile dysfunction]], is [[patent]]ed by [[Pfizer]].<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=8858389 |title=Sildenafil: an orally active type 5 cyclic GMP-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor for the treatment of penile erectile dysfunction |journal=International Journal of Impotence Research |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=47–52 |year=1996 |last1=Boolell |first1=M. |last2=Allen |first2=M. J. |last3=Ballard |first3=S. A. |last4=Gepi-Attee |first4=S. |last5=Muirhead |first5=G. J. |last6=Naylor |first6=A. M. |last7=Osterloh |first7=I. H. |last8=Gingell |first8=C. }}</ref>

==Meteorology==
* January 7 – A [[North American blizzard of 1996|large blizzard]] hits the Eastern United States, killing 60.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lipman|first1=Don|title=One wild storm: A look back at the 'Blizzard of '96'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/one-wild-storm-a-look-back-at-the-blizzard-of-96/2013/01/07/89a1242c-5875-11e2-9fa9-5fbdc9530eb9_blog.html|newspaper=Washington Post|accessdate=20 February 2018|date=7 January 2013}}</ref>
* May 15 – Severe thunderstorms and a [[tornado]] in Bangladesh kills at least 443 people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Death Toll in Bangladesh Tornado Rises to at Least 443|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/15/world/death-toll-in-bangladesh-tornado-rises-to-at-least-443.html|website=The New York Times|accessdate=20 February 2018|date=15 May 1996}}</ref>
* July 18–21 – Storms provoke severe flooding on the [[Saguenay River]] in Quebec,<ref>{{cite web|title=GEOSCAN Search Results: Fastlink|url=https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/starweb/geoscan/servlet.starweb?path=geoscan/fulle.web&search1=R=209234|website=geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca|accessdate=20 February 2018|language=en|date = 2015-12-07}}</ref> in one of Canada's most costly [[natural disaster]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title='What am I going to do?': Saguenay resident recalls flood that swept away his home|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/saguenay-quebec-floods-20-year-anniversary-1.3684983|website=CBC News|accessdate=20 February 2018|language=en}}</ref>

==Philosophy==
* Australian philosopher [[David Chalmers]] publishes ''[[The Conscious Mind]]: in search of a fundamental theory''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Conscious Mind David J. Chalmers|url=https://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780195117899.html|website=www.oupcanada.com|accessdate=20 February 2018}}</ref>

==Technology==
* [[Zenith Electronics Corporation|Zenith]] introduces the first [[High-definition television|HDTV]]-compatible front projection television in the United States. Broadcasters, TV & PC manufacturers set industry standards for digital HDTV.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Constable|first1=George|last2=Somerville|first2=Bob|title=A Century of Innovation: Twenty Engineering Achievements that Transformed Our Lives|date=2003|publisher=Joseph Henry Press|isbn=9780309089081|page=71|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IyVFweSZu0cC&pg=PA71|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Advanced Photo System|APS]] [[film format]] is introduced.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Andrews|first1=Philip|title=Langford's Starting Photography: The Guide to Creating Great Images|date=2015|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=9781317552833|page=46|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hNOoCgAAQBAJ&pg=SA2-PA46|language=en}}</ref>

==Publications==
* May – [[Sokal affair]]: American mathematical physicist [[Alan Sokal]] hoaxes the editors into publishing a deliberately nonsensical paper, "Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity", in a "[[science wars]]" issue of the journal ''[[Social Text]]'' ([[Duke University Press]])<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/466856 |jstor=466856 |title=Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity |journal=Social Text |issue=46/47 |pages=217–252 |year=1996 |last1=Sokal |first1=Alan D. |s2cid=1546862 }}</ref> as a critique of the intellectual rigor of [[postmodernism]] in academic [[cultural studies]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/lingua_franca_v4/lingua_franca_v4.html|title=A Physicist Experiments With Cultural Studies|accessdate=2015-03-09|last=Sokal|first=Alan D.|journal=[[Lingua Franca (magazine)|Lingua Franca]]|date=May 1996}}</ref>
* Belgian physical chemist [[Ilya Prigogine]] publishes ''[[:fr:La Fin des certitudes|La Fin des certitudes]]'' (translated as ''The End of Certainty: time, chaos, and the new laws of nature'').<ref>{{cite book|last1=Prigogine|first1=Ilya|title=La Fin des certitudes |publisher=Éditions Odile Jacob |language=French|date=1 January 1996}}</ref>
* French-born archaeologist [[Denise Schmandt-Besserat]] publishes ''How Writing Came About''.<ref>{{cite book|title=How Writing Came About |language=en|isbn=9780292774865|date=1996-06-05|last1=Schmandt-Besserat|first1=Denise|publisher=University of Texas Press}}</ref>

==Awards==
* [[Nobel Prize]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Nobel Prizes 1996|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/year/?year=1996|website=www.nobelprize.org|accessdate=20 February 2018}}</ref>
** [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]]:  [[David M. Lee]], [[Douglas D. Osheroff]], [[Robert Coleman Richardson|Robert C. Richardson]]
** [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]]:  [[Robert Curl]], Sir [[Harold Kroto]], [[Richard Smalley]]
** [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Medicine]]:  [[Peter C. Doherty]], [[Rolf M. Zinkernagel]]
* [[Kyoto Prize]]
** [[Willard Van Orman Quine]] is awarded the [[Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy]] for his "outstanding contributions to the progress of philosophy in the 20th century by proposing numerous theories based on keen insights in logic, epistemology, philosophy of science and philosophy of language."<ref>{{cite web|title=Willard Van Orman Quine|url=http://www.inamori-f.or.jp/laureates/k12_c_willard/ctn_e.html|publisher=Inamori Foundation|accessdate=15 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130720223632/http://www.inamori-f.or.jp/laureates/k12_c_willard/ctn_e.html|archive-date=2013-07-20|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[Turing Award|Turing Award for Computing]]: [[Amir Pnueli]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Amir Pnueli|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Amir-Pnueli|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=20 February 2018|language=en}}</ref>
*[[Wollaston Medal|Wollaston Medal for Geology]]: [[Nicholas John Shackleton]]<ref>{{cite web|title=The Geological Society of London - Wollaston Medal|url=https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/About/History/Award-Winners-Since-1831/Wollaston-Medal|website=www.geolsoc.org.uk|accessdate=21 February 2018}}</ref>

==Births==
* July 5 – [[Dolly (sheep)|Dolly]] (d. [[2003 in science|2003]]), Scottish sheep, the world's first [[Cloning|clone]]d [[mammal]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Dolly the sheep|url=https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/natural-world/dolly-the-sheep/|website=National Museums Scotland|accessdate=21 February 2018|language=en|archive-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221101206/https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/natural-world/dolly-the-sheep/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Deaths==
* January 12 – [[Bartel Leendert van der Waerden]] (b. [[1903 in science|1903]]), Dutch [[mathematician]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Sets and Extensions in the Twentieth Century|date=2012|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=9780080930664|page=175|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RBrWwKVbmMUC&pg=PA175|language=en}}</ref>
* February 20 – [[Solomon Asch]] (b. [[1907 in science|1907]]), [[Polish American]] [[social psychologist]].<ref>{{cite web|title=About Solomon Asch|url=http://www.brynmawr.edu/aschcenter/about/solomon.htm|website=www.brynmawr.edu|accessdate=21 February 2018|archive-date=6 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806035010/http://www.brynmawr.edu/aschcenter/about/solomon.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* March 19 – [[Chen Jingrun]] (b. [[1933 in science|1933]]), [[Chinese people|Chinese]] mathematician.<ref>{{cite book|last=Song|first=Yuwu|title=Biographical Dictionary of the People's Republic of China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DGbyzKLVh30C&pg=PA35|year=2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-0298-1|page=35}}</ref>
* March 26 – [[David Packard]] (b. [[1912 in science|1912]]), [[Americans|American]] electrical engineer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Obituary: David Packard|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-david-packard-1344506.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-david-packard-1344506.html |archive-date=2022-05-01 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=The Independent|accessdate=21 February 2018|date=28 March 1996}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* June 6 – [[George Davis Snell]] (b. 1903), American mouse [[geneticist]] and basic transplant [[immunologist]].<ref>{{cite web|title=George Davis Snell - American geneticist|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Davis-Snell|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=21 February 2018|language=en}}</ref>
* June 17 – [[Thomas Kuhn]] (b. [[1922 in science|1922]]), American philosopher of science.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Obituary: Thomas S. Kuhn (18 July 1922 - 17 June 1996)|jstor=285595|journal=Social Studies of Science|volume=27|issue=3|pages=483–502|date=1997|last1=Edge|first1=David|last2=Harre|first2=Rom|last3=Brown|first3=Andrew|last4=Barnes|first4=Barry|last5=Mulkay|first5=Michael|last6=Fuller|first6=Steve|last7=Rudwick|first7=Martin|last8=Giere|first8=Ronald N.|last9=Bloor|first9=David|doi=10.1177/030631297027003005|pmid=11619257|s2cid=28154701 }}</ref>
* August 1 – [[Tadeusz Reichstein]] (b. [[1897 in science|1897]]), Polish-Swiss winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Tadeus Reichstein - Biographical|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1950/reichstein-bio.html|website=www.nobelprize.org|accessdate=21 February 2018}}</ref>
* August 9 – Sir [[Frank Whittle]] (b. 1907), [[English people|English]] [[aeronautical engineer]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Obituaries: Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries-air-commodore-sir-frank-whittle-1309015.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries-air-commodore-sir-frank-whittle-1309015.html |archive-date=2022-05-01 |url-access=subscription|website=The Independent|accessdate=21 February 2018|date=10 August 1996}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* August 12 – [[Victor Ambartsumian]] (b. [[1908 in science|1908]]), Soviet Armenian theoretical astrophysicist.<ref>{{cite web|title=Viktor Amazaspovich Ambartsumian - Armenian astronomer|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Viktor-Amazaspovich-Ambartsumian|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=21 February 2018|language=en}}</ref>
* September 1 – [[Karl Kehrle]] (Brother Adam) (b. [[1898 in science|1898]]), British Benedictine monk and [[beekeeper]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Brother Adam - British apiarist|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Brother-Adam|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=21 February 2018|language=en}}</ref>
* September 10 – [[Hans List]] (b. [[1896 in science|1896]]), Austrian inventor.<ref>[https://www.nae.edu/188075/HANS-LIST-18961996 HANS LIST 1896-1996]</ref>
* September 20 – [[Paul Erdős]] (b. [[1913 in science|1913]]), Hungarian-born mathematician.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paul Erdős - Hungarian mathematician|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Erdos|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=21 February 2018|language=en}}</ref>
* October 5 – [[Seymour Cray]] (b. [[1925 in science|1925]]), American supercomputer architect.<ref>{{cite web|title=Seymour R. Cray - American engineer|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Seymour-R-Cray|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=21 February 2018|language=en}}</ref>
* November 13 – [[Bobbie Vaile]] (b. [[1959 in science|1959]]), Australian astrophysicist.<ref>{{cite web|title=U-W - Women in Astronomy: A Comprehensive Bibliography (Science Reference Services, Library of Congress)|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/womenastro/womenastro-uw.html|website=www.loc.gov|accessdate=21 February 2018}}</ref>
* November 19 – [[Grace Bates]] (b. [[1914 in science|1914]]), American mathematician.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beery|first1=Janet L.|author1-link=Janet Beery|last2=Greenwald|first2=Sarah J.|last3=Jensen-Vallin|first3=Jacqueline A.|last4=Mast|first4=Maura B.|author4-link=Maura Mast|title=Women in Mathematics: Celebrating the Centennial of the Mathematical Association of America|date=2017|publisher=Springer|isbn=9783319666945|page=97|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDVBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|language=en}}</ref>
* November 21 – [[Abdus Salam]] (b. [[1926 in science|1926]]), Punjabi-born winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1098/rsbm.1998.0025 |title=Muhammad Abdus Salam, K. B. E.. 29 January 1926–21 November 1996 |journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society |volume=44 |pages=387–401 |year=1998 |last1=Kibble |first1=T. W. B. |doi-access=free }}</ref>
* December 20 – [[Carl Sagan]] (b. [[1934 in science|1934]]), American [[astronomer]].<ref>{{cite web|title=CNN - Carl Sagan dies at 62 - Dec. 20, 1996|url=http://edition.cnn.com/US/9612/20/sagan/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220204613/http://edition.cnn.com/US/9612/20/sagan/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 20, 2006|website=CNN|access-date=21 February 2018}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Portal|1990s|Science}}

[[Category:1996 in science| ]]
[[Category:20th century in science]]
[[Category:1990s in science]]