David Adler (physicist)
Encyclopedia
David Adler was an American physicist and MIT professor. In condensed matter physics
, Adler made significant contributions to the understanding of transition-metal oxides, the electronic properties of low-mobility materials, transport phenomena in amorphous materials, metal-insulator transitions, and electronic defects in amorphous semiconductors.
Adler was born in the Bronx to Russian immigrant parents and attended the Bronx High School of Science
. He then received his B.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
(RPI) in 1956 and his doctorate in physics from Harvard University
in 1964. At Harvard, Adler started a dissertation on quantum field theory advised by Julian Schwinger
at a time when Prof. Schwinger was revolutionizing theoretical physics. But Schwinger, who has been criticized for ignoring his graduate students, lost Adler’s thesis draft, and Adler changed his research direction, completing his Ph.D. on the theory of semiconductor-to-metal transitions with Harvey Brooks.
Next, Dr. Adler worked for a year as a research associate at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment
(AERE) in Harwell, United Kingdom. He then became a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) in 1965, advancing to full professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1975. During his relatively short career, Adler published almost 300 papers in technical journals and presented over 80 invited papers at scientific meetings throughout the world.
Prof. Adler played a key role in the development and operation of MIT’s Concourse
, a small, interdisciplinary program of studies for undergraduates. Since Adler was “regarded as one of his department’s most outstanding teachers of undergraduates” and headed up its undergraduate thesis program, MIT established in his honor the yearly David Adler Memorial Thesis Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis.
Adler was a Fellow of the American Physical Society
, which also created an annual award in his honor, the David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics
. He served as a regional editor of the Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, an associate editor of Materials Research Bulletin, and an editorial board member of the publication Semiconductors & Insulators.
Adler was also well known in the physics community for his love and knowledge of fine food and world travel. For 29 years until his death, Adler was married to biochemist Alice J. Adler.
Condensed matter physics
Condensed matter physics deals with the physical properties of condensed phases of matter. These properties appear when a number of atoms at the supramolecular and macromolecular scale interact strongly and adhere to each other or are otherwise highly concentrated in a system. The most familiar...
, Adler made significant contributions to the understanding of transition-metal oxides, the electronic properties of low-mobility materials, transport phenomena in amorphous materials, metal-insulator transitions, and electronic defects in amorphous semiconductors.
Life and work
In particular, Dr. Adler was an expert on amorphous semiconductors, glassy substances that lack the precise atomic structure of semiconductor crystals. As a collaborator with Stanford Ovshinsky and other physicists at Energy Conversion Devices, Inc., where Adler consulted, he published extensively on solar photovoltaic energy conversion, and threshold switching and memory devices. He was also renowned for the “originality and clarity” of his review articles, which have been described as “among the clearest and best written in any field of science and technology.”Adler was born in the Bronx to Russian immigrant parents and attended the Bronx High School of Science
Bronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science is a specialized New York City public high school often considered the premier science magnet school in the United States. Founded in 1938, it is now located in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx...
. He then received his B.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
(RPI) in 1956 and his doctorate in physics from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1964. At Harvard, Adler started a dissertation on quantum field theory advised by Julian Schwinger
Julian Schwinger
Julian Seymour Schwinger was an American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work on the theory of quantum electrodynamics, in particular for developing a relativistically invariant perturbation theory, and for renormalizing QED to one loop order.Schwinger is recognized as one of the...
at a time when Prof. Schwinger was revolutionizing theoretical physics. But Schwinger, who has been criticized for ignoring his graduate students, lost Adler’s thesis draft, and Adler changed his research direction, completing his Ph.D. on the theory of semiconductor-to-metal transitions with Harvey Brooks.
Next, Dr. Adler worked for a year as a research associate at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment
Atomic Energy Research Establishment
The Atomic Energy Research Establishment near Harwell, Oxfordshire, was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1990s.-Founding:...
(AERE) in Harwell, United Kingdom. He then became a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT) in 1965, advancing to full professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1975. During his relatively short career, Adler published almost 300 papers in technical journals and presented over 80 invited papers at scientific meetings throughout the world.
Prof. Adler played a key role in the development and operation of MIT’s Concourse
Concourse Program at MIT
The Concourse Program is a freshman learning community at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Concourse admits up to fifty select MIT freshmen a year who are interested in understanding the breadth of human knowledge and the larger context of their science and engineering studies...
, a small, interdisciplinary program of studies for undergraduates. Since Adler was “regarded as one of his department’s most outstanding teachers of undergraduates” and headed up its undergraduate thesis program, MIT established in his honor the yearly David Adler Memorial Thesis Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis.
Adler was a Fellow of the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
, which also created an annual award in his honor, the David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics
David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics
The David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics is a prize that has been awarded annually by the American Physical Society since 1988...
. He served as a regional editor of the Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, an associate editor of Materials Research Bulletin, and an editorial board member of the publication Semiconductors & Insulators.
Adler was also well known in the physics community for his love and knowledge of fine food and world travel. For 29 years until his death, Adler was married to biochemist Alice J. Adler.
Selected publications
- Kastner M., Adler D., & Fritzsche H., “Valence-Alternation Model for Localized Gap States in Lone-Pair Semiconductors,” PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, Vol. 37, No. 22 (1976), pp. 1504-7.
- Adler D., “Mechanisms for Metal-Nonmetal Transitions in Transition Metal Oxides and Sulfides,” REVIEWS OF MODERN PHYSICS, Vol. 40, No. 4 (1968), p. 714 ff.
- Adler D. & Brooks, H., “Theory of Semiconductor-To-Metal Transitions,” PHYSICAL REVIEW, Vol. 155, No. 3 (1967), p. 826 ff.
- Adler D., Shur M., Silver M., et al., “Threshold Switching in Chalcogenide-Glass Thin Films,” JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, Vol. 51, No. 6 (1980), pp. 3289-309.
- Adler D., Henisch H., & Mott N., “Mechanism of Threshold Switching in Amorphous Alloys,” REVIEWS OF MODERN PHYSICS, Vol. 50, No. 2 (1978), pp. 209-20.
- Adler D. & Yoffa E., “Electronic Structure of Amorphous Semiconductors,” PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, Vol. 36, No. 20 (1976), pp. 1197-1200.
- Baryam Y., Adler D., & Joannopoulos J., “Structure and Electronic States in Disordered Systems,” PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, Vol. 57, No. 4 (1986), pp. 467-70.
- Ovshinsky S. & Adler D., “Local Structure, Bonding, and Electronic Properties of Covalent Amorphous Semiconductors,” CONTEMPORARY PHYSICS, Vol. 19, No. 2 (1978), pp. 109-26.