Editing Peter Debye (section)

===Later work===
From 1934 to 1939 Debye was director of the physics section of the prestigious Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in [[Berlin]]. From 1936 onwards he was also professor of Theoretical Physics at the [[Humboldt University of Berlin|Frederick William University]] of Berlin. These positions were held during the [[Nazi regime|Nazi regime]] in Germany and, from 1938 onward, [[Austria]].

In 1939 Debye traveled to the United States to deliver the Baker Lectures at [[Cornell University]] in [[Ithaca, New York]]. After leaving Germany in early 1940, Debye became a professor at Cornell, chaired the chemistry department for 10 years, and became a member of [[Alpha Chi Sigma]]. In 1946 he became an American citizen. Unlike the European phase of his life, where he moved from city to city every few years, in the United States Debye remained at Cornell for the remainder of his career. He retired in 1952, but continued research until his death.

Much of Debye's work at Cornell concerned the use of light-scattering techniques (derived from his X-ray scattering work of years earlier) to determine the size and [[molecular weight]] of [[polymer]] [[molecule]]s. This started as a result of his research during [[World War II]] on [[synthetic rubber]], but was extended to [[protein]]s and other [[macromolecule]]s.

In April 1966, Debye suffered a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]], and in November of that year a second one proved fatal. He is buried in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery (Ithaca, New York, US).<ref>[http://chemindigest.com/peter-debye1884-1966-phenomenal-achievements-in-physical-chemistry/ ''Chemical Industry Digest'']</ref>