MIT Physics Department
Encyclopedia
The Physics Department at MIT has over 120 faculty members. It offers academic programs leading to the S.B., S.M., Ph.D. and Sc.D. degrees.
As of 2006, the department counts four Nobel Prize
winners among its faculty: Samuel C.C. Ting (1976), Jerome I. Friedman (1990), Wolfgang Ketterle
(2001) and Frank Wilczek
(2004). A few other former faculty members have also been so honored: Clifford Shull
(1994), Henry Kendall
(1990), Steven Weinberg
(1979) and Charles H. Townes (1964). MIT Physics alumni who have received the Nobel Prize for Physics are Adam Riess
(2011), George Smoot
(2006), Eric A. Cornell and Carl E. Wieman (2001), Robert B. Laughlin
(1998), William D. Phillips (1997), Burton Richter
(1976), John Robert Schrieffer
(1972), Murray Gell-Mann
(1969), Richard Feynman
(1965) and William Shockley
(1956).
The second, "Course 8 Flexible Option" is designed for those students who would like to develop a strong background in physics but who do not necessarily want to pursue graduate work in the field. It is an excellent preparation for further study in medicine, law, engineering, business, etc.
. The two classes are taught at different levels of sophistication:
Students are also required to take two additional classes offered by the Department of Mathematics
that are above the 18.03 level. Students are often recommended to take 18.04 (Complex Variables) and 18.06 (Linear Algebra).
The department also requires two additional physics subjects, one of which has to be the following:
MIT offers both masters and doctoral level degree programs in physics.
There are no specific subjects the student must study, but he or she is required to take two courses in the candidates's field of research specialization, and two that are outside it.
Candidates must pass two written examinations on general physics material and an oral examination in a specialized field no later than their seventh term after they initially enroll for graduate study at MIT.
Finally, the candidate must submit a doctoral dissertation that contains a substantial piece of original research, under the supervision of a member of the physics department faculty.
As of 2006, the department counts four Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winners among its faculty: Samuel C.C. Ting (1976), Jerome I. Friedman (1990), Wolfgang Ketterle
Wolfgang Ketterle
Wolfgang Ketterle is a German physicist and professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . His research has focused on experiments that trap and cool atoms to temperatures close to absolute zero, and he led one of the first groups to realize Bose-Einstein condensation in these...
(2001) and Frank Wilczek
Frank Wilczek
Frank Anthony Wilczek is a theoretical physicist from the United States and a Nobel laureate. He is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ....
(2004). A few other former faculty members have also been so honored: Clifford Shull
Clifford Shull
Clifford Glenwood Shull was a Nobel Prize-winning American physicist.-Biography:...
(1994), Henry Kendall
Henry Way Kendall
Henry Way Kendall was an American particle physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1990 jointly with Jerome Isaac Friedman and Richard E...
(1990), Steven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg is an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles....
(1979) and Charles H. Townes (1964). MIT Physics alumni who have received the Nobel Prize for Physics are Adam Riess
Adam Riess
Adam Guy Riess is an American astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University and the Space Telescope Science Institute and is widely known for his research in using supernovae as Cosmological Probes. Riess shared both the 2006 Shaw Prize in Astronomy and the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics with Saul...
(2011), George Smoot
George Smoot
George Fitzgerald Smoot III is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, Nobel laureate, and $1 million TV quiz show prize winner . He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for his work on COBE with John C...
(2006), Eric A. Cornell and Carl E. Wieman (2001), Robert B. Laughlin
Robert B. Laughlin
Robert Betts Laughlin is a professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University. Along with Horst L. Störmer of Columbia University and Daniel C. Tsui of Princeton University, he was awarded a share of the 1998 Nobel Prize in physics for their explanation of the fractional quantum Hall...
(1998), William D. Phillips (1997), Burton Richter
Burton Richter
Burton Richter is a Nobel Prize-winning American physicist. He led the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center team which co-discovered the J/ψ meson in 1974, alongside the Brookhaven National Laboratory team led by Samuel Ting. This discovery was part of the so-called November Revolution of particle...
(1976), John Robert Schrieffer
John Robert Schrieffer
John Robert Schrieffer is an American physicist and, with John Bardeen and Leon N Cooper, recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize for Physics for developing the BCS theory, the first successful microscopic theory of superconductivity.-Biography:...
(1972), Murray Gell-Mann
Murray Gell-Mann
Murray Gell-Mann is an American physicist and linguist who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the theory of elementary particles...
(1969), Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
(1965) and William Shockley
William Shockley
William Bradford Shockley Jr. was an American physicist and inventor. Along with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain, Shockley co-invented the transistor, for which all three were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics.Shockley's attempts to commercialize a new transistor design in the 1950s...
(1956).
Undergraduate academics
There are two paths to earning an S.B. in physics from MIT. The first, "Course 8 Focused Option", is for students intending to continue studying physics in graduate school.The second, "Course 8 Flexible Option" is designed for those students who would like to develop a strong background in physics but who do not necessarily want to pursue graduate work in the field. It is an excellent preparation for further study in medicine, law, engineering, business, etc.
Introductory physics
All undergraduate students at MIT, regardless of their major, are required to take two semesters of introductory physics (or receive equivalent transfer credit). The first semester is centered on Newtonian Mechanics, the second on ElectromagnetismElectromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
. The two classes are taught at different levels of sophistication:
- The standard introductory courses, intended to give science and engineering majors a solid grounding in introductory physics. It is currently taught in the TEAL format.
- An equivalent version of 8.01 that lasts three weeks longer, into the January Independent Activities Period. Intended for students with a weaker background in calculus and/or physics. It is currently taught in a primarily lecture-based format.
- The spring semester version of 8.01, taught in a small-class environment.
- These classes are taught at a higher level than 8.01/8.02; a certain degree of mathematical maturityMathematical maturityMathematical maturity is an informal term used by mathematicians to refer to a mixture of mathematical experience and insight that cannot be directly taught...
is assumed. It is currently taught in a lecture-based format.
Course 8 focused requirements
In addition to the General Institute Requirements, students must complete these classes:- 8.03 Physics III (Wave Mechanics)
- 18.03/18.034 Differential Equations
- 8.033 Relativity
- 8.04 Quantum Physics I
- 8.044 Statistical Physics I
- 8.05 Quantum Physics II
- 8.06 Quantum Physics III
- 8.13 Experimental Physics I
- 8.14 Experimental Physics II
- 8.ThU Thesis
Students are also required to take two additional classes offered by the Department of Mathematics
MIT Mathematics Department
The Department of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the leading mathematics departments in the USAand the world...
that are above the 18.03 level. Students are often recommended to take 18.04 (Complex Variables) and 18.06 (Linear Algebra).
The department also requires two additional physics subjects, one of which has to be the following:
Course 8 flexible requirements
Along with the General Institute Requiements, 8-B students must also take:- 8.03 Physics III (Wave Mechanics)
- 18.03/18.034 Differential Equations
- 8.04 Quantum Physics I
- One of the following subjects:
- 8.05 Quantum Physics II
- 8.20 Introduction to Special Relativity
- 8.033 Relativity
- A laboratory class
- 8.13 Experimental Physics I
- A laboratory subject of similar rigor in another department
- An experimental research project
- An experimentally oriented summer externship
- At least one subject offered by the department in addition to the ones listed above.
- Three subjects that form an intellectually coherent unit in some area (e.g. Nanotechnology, Biophysics, Astronomy, etc.)
Graduate academics
Candidates for admission to MIT's graduate level physics programs are expected to have the equivalent background of an MIT undergraduate physics education. Exceptions are made, however, those students are expected to bring their proficiency up to MIT standards during their course of study.MIT offers both masters and doctoral level degree programs in physics.
Requirements for the Master of Science in Physics
In addition to the General Institute Requirements, a candidate must present a masters thesis that represents his or her independent research work. This work must be carried out under the supervision of a physics department faculty member.Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Science in Physics
At MIT, the Ph.D. and Sc.D. are interchangeable. In addition to fulfilling the General Institute Requirements, a student must enroll in basic graduate subjects and pass general examinations.There are no specific subjects the student must study, but he or she is required to take two courses in the candidates's field of research specialization, and two that are outside it.
Candidates must pass two written examinations on general physics material and an oral examination in a specialized field no later than their seventh term after they initially enroll for graduate study at MIT.
Finally, the candidate must submit a doctoral dissertation that contains a substantial piece of original research, under the supervision of a member of the physics department faculty.
Professors
- Raymond Ashoori
- John W. Belcher
- George G. Benedek
- William Bertozzi
- Edmund Bertschinger
- Wit Busza
- Claude R. CanizaresClaude R. CanizaresClaude R. Canizares is the Bruno Rossi Professor of Physics at MIT. He is also an associate provost at MIT and associate director for MIT of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center.- Academic career :...
- Deepto Chakrabarty, S.B. 1988
- Min Chen
- Isaac Chuang, S.B. 1990Isaac ChuangIsaac L. Chuang currently leads the quanta research group at the Center for Ultracold Atoms at MIT. He received his undergraduate degrees in physics and electrical engineering and masters in electrical engineering at MIT. In 1997 he received his PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford...
- Janet Conrad
- Bruno Coppi
- Edward H. Farhi
- Peter Fisher
- Daniel Z. FreedmanDaniel Z. FreedmanDaniel Z. Freedman is an American theoretical physicist. He is a Professor of Physics and Applied Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . He is known for his work in supergravity.-Education:...
- Alan GuthAlan GuthAlan Harvey Guth is an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist. Guth has researched elementary particle theory...
, S.B. 1968, Ph.D. 1971 - Jacqueline N. Hewitt
- Erich P. Ippen
- Roman W. Jackiw
- Robert JaffeRobert JaffeRobert L. Jaffe is an American physicist and the Jane and Otto Morningstar Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . He was formerly director of the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics.-Biography:...
- John D. Joannopoulos
- Paul C. Joss
- Mehran KardarMehran KardarMehran Kardar is a prominent Iranian born physicist, full Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and co-faculty at the New England Complex Systems Institute. He received his B.A...
- Marc A. KastnerMarc A. KastnerMarc A. Kastner is an American physicist and Donner Professor of Science and Dean of the School of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.- Early years :...
- Wolfgang KetterleWolfgang KetterleWolfgang Ketterle is a German physicist and professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . His research has focused on experiments that trap and cool atoms to temperatures close to absolute zero, and he led one of the first groups to realize Bose-Einstein condensation in these...
- Stanley B. Kowalski
- Patrick A. LeePatrick A. LeePatrick A. Lee is a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology .-Awards:*Dirac Medal, 2005 *Oliver Buckley Prize -Publications:...
- Leonid S. Levitov
- J. David Litster
- June L. Matthews
- Nergis Mavalvala, Ph.D. 1997
- Richard G. Milner
- Ernest J. Moniz
- John W. Negele
- Christoph M. E. Paus
- Miklos Porkolab
- David E. PritchardDavid PritchardDavid Pritchard may refer to:* David Pritchard * David Pritchard * David Pritchard...
- Krishna Rajagopal
- Robert P. Redwine
- Gunther Roland
- Paul SchechterPaul L. SchechterPaul L. Schechter is an astrophysicist and observational cosmologist. He is the William A. M. Burden Professor of Astrophysics at MIT.Schechter received his bachelor's degree from Cornell in 1968, and his Ph.D. degree from Caltech in 1975...
- Sara SeagerSara SeagerSara Seager is a Canadian-American astronomer who is currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and known for her work on extrasolar planets. She was born in Toronto, Canada. In 1994, she earned the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics from the...
- H. Sebastian SeungSebastian SeungSebastian Seung is a Korean American multi-disciplinary expert whose research efforts have spanned the fields of neuroscience, physics and bioinformatics. He is a professor of Computational Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and a professor of Physics at the...
- Marin SoljačićMarin SoljacicMarin Soljačić is a Croatian physicist and electrical engineer known for wireless non-radiative energy transfer.-Biography:...
- Washington Taylor
- Max TegmarkMax TegmarkMax Tegmark is a Swedish-American cosmologist. Tegmark is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and belongs to the scientific directorate of the Foundational Questions Institute.-Early life:...
- Samuel C.C. Ting
- Senthil Todadri
- Alexander van Oudenaarden
- Vladan Vuletic
- Xiao-Gang Wen
- Frank WilczekFrank WilczekFrank Anthony Wilczek is a theoretical physicist from the United States and a Nobel laureate. He is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ....
- Boleslaw Wyslouch
- Barton ZwiebachBarton ZwiebachBarton Zwiebach is a string theorist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, born in Lima, Perú. His undergraduate work was in Electrical Engineering at the Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería in Peru, from which he graduated in 1977.His graduate work was in physics at the...
Associate professors
- Jan Egedal-Pedersen
- Joseph Formaggio
- Scott Hughes
- Young Sang Lee
- Hong Liu
- John McGreevy
- Leonid Mirny
- Steven Nahn
- Robert Simcoe
- Iain W. Stewart
- Bernd Surrow
- Joshua Winn
Assistant professors
- Allan Adams
- Jeremy England
- Enectalí Figueroa-FelicianoEnectalí Figueroa-FelicianoDr. Enectalí Figueroa-Feliciano a.k.a. "Tali", Ph.D., is an astrophysicist and researcher with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center who pioneered the development position-sensitive detectors. He is an expert and researcher on dark matter....
- Nuh Gedik
- Jeff Gore
- Pablo Jarillo-Herrero
- Markus Klute
- Jocelyn Monroe
- Jesse Thaler
- Nevin N. Weinberg
- Martin Zwierlein
Technical Instructors
- Ryan Foote
- Andrew Neely
- Alexander Shvonski
- Eli Sidman
- Matthew Strafuss
Senior research scientists
- Thomas William Donnelly
- Earl S. Marmar
- Jagadeesh S. Moodera
- George S.F. Stephans
- Frank E. Taylor
- Richard Temkin
Professors emeriti
- Michel Baranger
- Ulrich J. Becker
- A. Nihat BerkerNihat BerkerAhmet Nihat Berker ,is a Turkish theoretical physicist and emeritus professor of physics at MIT. He is the son of a notable scientist and engineer Ratip Berker, who deceased on 17.10.1997...
- Aron Bernstein
- Robert J. Birgeneau
- Hale Bradt, Ph.D. 1961
- Bernard Burke
- George ClarkGeorge W. ClarkGeorge Whipple Clark is an American astronomer and professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. When he retired, M.I.T. described him as "a central figure in the development of high-energy astrophysics, particularly in the design, analysis, and interpretation of experiments for...
- Eric Cosman
- Peter DemosPeter DemosPeter T. Demos is an emeritus professor in the Department of Physics and the Laboratory for Nuclear Science at MIT. A native of Peterborough, Ontario, Demos attended Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School and Queens University, and received a Ph.D. in Physics from MIT in 1951...
- Mildred S. DresselhausMildred DresselhausMildred S. Dresselhaus is an Institute Professor and Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology....
- Anthony FrenchAnthony FrenchAnthony Philip French is an emeritus professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was born in Brighton, England....
- Jerome I. Friedman
- Jeffrey GoldstoneJeffrey GoldstoneJeffrey Goldstone is a British-born theoretical physicist and an emeritus physics faculty at MIT Center for Theoretical Physics.He worked at the University of Cambridge until 1977....
- Thomas J. Greytak
- Lee Grodzins
- Kerson HuangKerson HuangKerson Huang is a Chinese-American theoretical physicist, who is currently Professor of Physics Emeritus at MIT....
, Ph.D. 1953 - Karl U. Ingard
- Ali JavanAli JavanAli Mortimer Javan , born December 26, 1926 in Tehran, Iran is an Iranian American inventor and physicist at MIT. He co-invented the gas laser in 1960, with William R. Bennett...
- Arthur K. Kermin
- John King
- Vera Kistiakowsky
- Daniel KleppnerDaniel KleppnerDaniel Kleppner, born 1932, is the Lester Wolfe Professor Emeritus of Physics at MIT and co-director of the . He is the winner of the 2005 Wolf Prize in Physics , and the 2007 . Prof. Kleppner has also been awarded the National Medal of Science . Together with Robert J. Kolenkow, he authored a...
- George Koster
- Benjamin Lax
- Walter H. G. LewinWalter LewinWalter H. G. Lewin is a professor emeritus of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology .-Education and career:...
- Earle Lomon
- Stanislaw Olbert
- Louis S. Osborne
- Irwin A. Pless
- Saul A. RappaportSaul RappaportSaul Rappaport is a professor emeritus of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Rappaport became Assistant Professor in the MIT Department of Physics in 1969 and became a full Professor in 1981. From 1993 to 1995, he was Head of the Astrophysics Division.He received his A.B. from...
- Lawrence Rosenson
- Malcom Strandberg
- Rainer WeissRainer WeissRainer Weiss is professor of physics emeritus at MIT.- Early life and education :Weiss was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1932. Fleeing political unrest, his family moved first to Prague, in late 1932, and then to the United States, in 1938; his youth was spent in New York City, where he attended...
, B.S. 1955, Ph.D. 1962 - Peter A. WolffPeter A. WolffPeter A. Wolff began his career with Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1952. Thereafter he joined the physics department of MIT in 1970, becoming head of the condensed matter and atomic physics division. In 1976 he moved on to the directorship of the Research Laboratory of Electronics and then of the...
- James Young
Former members of the faculty
- Boris AltshulerBoris AltshulerBoris Altshuler is a professor of physics at Columbia University. His specialty is theoretical condensed matter physics....
- Francis BitterFrancis BitterFrancis Bitter was an American physicist.Bitter invented the Bitter plate used in resistive magnets . He is the one who thought of using dust to visualize a magnetic field...
- Robert J. Birgeneau
- William W. Buechner
- Charles R. Cross
- Martin DeutschMartin DeutschMartin Deutsch was an Austrian-American physicist, who was emeritus professor of physics at MIT. He is best known for being the discoverer of positronium.-Early life:...
, S.B. 1937, Ph.D. 1941 - Thomas H. Dupree
- James L. ElliotJames L. ElliotJames Ludlow Elliot was an American astronomer and scientist who, as part of a team, discovered the rings around the planet Uranus. Elliot was also part of a team that observed global warming on Triton, the largest moon of Neptune....
, S.B. 1965 - Harald Enge
- Sergio FubiniSergio FubiniSergio Fubini was an Italian theoretical physicist. He was one of the pioneers of string theory. Politically he engaged himself actively for peace in the Middle East.- Biography :...
- Michael S. FeldMichael Stephen FeldMichael S. Feld was an American physicist, remembered for his work on quantum optics as well as medical applications of lasers.-Biography:...
, S.B. 1963, S.M. 1963, Ph.D. 1967 - Herman FeshbachHerman FeshbachHerman Feshbach was an American physicist. He was an Institute Professor Emeritus of physics at MIT. Feshbach is best known for Feshbach resonance and for writing, with Philip M...
, Ph.D. 1942 - Nathaniel Frank
- Robert Hulsizer
- Henry W. Kendall, S.B. 1948, Ph.D. 1951
- Robert J. KolenkowRobert J. KolenkowRobert J. Kolenkow is an American physicist. He is best known for being the coauthor, along with Daniel Kleppner, of a popular undergraduate physics textbook....
, S.B. 1955 - Francis E. LowFrancis E. LowFrancis Eugene Low was an American theoretical physicist. He was an Institute Professor at MIT, and served as provost there from 1980 to 1985.-Early career:...
- Richard Cockburn MaclaurinRichard Cockburn MaclaurinRichard Cockburn Maclaurin was a Scottish-born U.S. educator and mathematical physicist. He was made president of MIT in 1909, and held the position until his death in 1920....
- Philip MorrisonPhilip MorrisonPhilip Morrison, was Institute Professor Emeritus and Professor of Physics Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology .-Early life and education:...
- Phillip Morse
- Charles Ladd Norton
- Edward C. Pickering
- William Barton RogersWilliam Barton RogersWilliam Barton Rogers was a geologist, physicist and educator. He is best known for setting down the founding principles for, advocating for, and finally obtaining the incorporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1861...
- Bruno RossiBruno RossiBruno Benedetto Rossi was a leading Italian-American experimental physicist. He made major contributions to cosmic ray and particle physics from 1930 through the 1950s, and pioneered X-ray astronomy and space plasma physics in the 1960s.-Biography:Rossi was born in Venice, Italy...
- Francis SearsFrancis SearsFrancis Weston Sears was an American physicist. He was a professor of physics at MIT for 35 years before moving to Dartmouth College in 1956 and is best known for co-authoring a frequently tapped into introductory physics textbook with Mark Zemansky, often referred to as Sears and Zemansky...
- Clifford G. Shull
- John C. SlaterJohn C. SlaterJohn Clarke Slater was a noted American physicist who made major contributions to the theory of the electronic structure of atoms, molecules and solids. This work is of ongoing importance in chemistry, as well as in many areas of physics. He also made major contributions to microwave electronics....
- Julius A. Stratton
- Lazlo Tisza
- Charles H. Townes
- Steven WeinbergSteven WeinbergSteven Weinberg is an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles....
- Victor F. Weisskopf
- Edwin Bidwell WilsonEdwin Bidwell WilsonEdwin Bidwell Wilson was an American mathematician and polymath. He was the sole protégé of Yale's physicist Josiah Willard Gibbs and was mentor to MIT economist Paul Samuelson. He received his AB from Harvard College in 1899 and his PhD from Yale University in 1901, working under Gibbs.E.B...
- Manuel Sandoval Vallarta, S.B. 1921, Ph.D. 1924
- Robert J. Van de GraaffRobert J. Van de GraaffRobert Jemison Van de Graaff, was an American physicist, noted for his design and construction of high voltage generators, who taught at Princeton University and MIT.-Biography:...
- Gabriele VenezianoGabriele VenezianoGabriele Veneziano, born in Florence, Italy), is an Italian theoretical physicist and the founder of string theory. . Has spent most of his scientific activities at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland...
- Felix VillarsFelix VillarsFelix Villars was an emeritus professor of physics at MIT. He is best known for the Pauli–Villars regularization, an important principle in quantum field theory.-Early life:...
- Richard K. YamamotoRichard K. YamamotoRichard K. Yamamoto was an elementary particle physicist and professor of physics at MIT focusing primarily on the study of leptons and quarks and their interactions. To this end he was involved in the BaBar Experiment at SLAC....
- Jerrold Zacharias
Notable alumni
| Name | S.B. | Ph.D. | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric A. Cornell | 1990 | Bose-Einstein Condensate, Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and... (2001) |
|
| Richard Feynman Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics... |
1939 | Quantum Electrodynamics Quantum electrodynamics Quantum electrodynamics is the relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics. In essence, it describes how light and matter interact and is the first theory where full agreement between quantum mechanics and special relativity is achieved... , Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and... (1965) |
|
| Murray Gell-Mann Murray Gell-Mann Murray Gell-Mann is an American physicist and linguist who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the theory of elementary particles... |
1951 | Quarks, Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and... (1969) |
|
| Gerald Guralnik Gerald Guralnik Gerald Stanford Guralnik is the Chancellor’s Professor of Physics at Brown University. He is most famous for his co-discovery of the Higgs mechanism and Higgs Boson with C. R. Hagen and Tom Kibble... |
1958 | Co-discoverer of Higgs mechanism Higgs mechanism In particle physics, the Higgs mechanism is the process in which gauge bosons in a gauge theory can acquire non-vanishing masses through absorption of Nambu-Goldstone bosons arising in spontaneous symmetry breaking.... and Higgs boson Higgs boson The Higgs boson is a hypothetical massive elementary particle that is predicted to exist by the Standard Model of particle physics. Its existence is postulated as a means of resolving inconsistencies in the Standard Model... in 1964 with C.R. Hagen, SB'58, SM '58, PhD '62 J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics Sakurai Prize The J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics, is presented by the American Physical Society at its annual "April Meeting", and honors outstanding achievement in particle physics theory... (2010) Professor of Physics, Brown University Brown University Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,... |
|
| C. R. Hagen C. R. Hagen Carl Richard Hagen is a professor of particle physics at the University of Rochester. He is most noted for his contributions to the Standard Model and Symmetry breaking as well as the co-discovery of the Higgs mechanism and Higgs boson with Gerald Guralnik and Tom Kibble... |
1958 | 1963 | Co-discoverer of Higgs mechanism Higgs mechanism In particle physics, the Higgs mechanism is the process in which gauge bosons in a gauge theory can acquire non-vanishing masses through absorption of Nambu-Goldstone bosons arising in spontaneous symmetry breaking.... and Higgs boson Higgs boson The Higgs boson is a hypothetical massive elementary particle that is predicted to exist by the Standard Model of particle physics. Its existence is postulated as a means of resolving inconsistencies in the Standard Model... in 1964 with Gerald Guralnik Gerald Guralnik Gerald Stanford Guralnik is the Chancellor’s Professor of Physics at Brown University. He is most famous for his co-discovery of the Higgs mechanism and Higgs Boson with C. R. Hagen and Tom Kibble... , SB'58 J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics Sakurai Prize The J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics, is presented by the American Physical Society at its annual "April Meeting", and honors outstanding achievement in particle physics theory... (2010) Professor of Physics, University of Rochester University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The... |
| J. David Jackson | 1949 | Classical Electrodynamics (textbook) | |
| Shirley Jackson | 1968 | 1973 | President of RPI 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... |
| Jay Last Jay Last Jay T. Last is a silicon pioneer and a member of the so-called Traitorous Eight that founded Silicon Valley.He was born in 1929 in Butler, Pennsylvania. He earned his bachelor's degree in Optics at the University of Rochester in 1951 and his Ph.D... |
1956 | One of the Shockley Semiconductor "Traitorous Eight Traitorous Eight The Traitorous Eight, as they became known, are eight men who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory to form Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957. More neutral terms include the "Fairchild Eight" and the "Shockley Eight." They have sometimes been called "Fairchildren," although this term has been also... " |
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| Robert B. Laughlin Robert B. Laughlin Robert Betts Laughlin is a professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University. Along with Horst L. Störmer of Columbia University and Daniel C. Tsui of Princeton University, he was awarded a share of the 1998 Nobel Prize in physics for their explanation of the fractional quantum Hall... |
1979 | Fractional Quantum Hall Effect Fractional quantum Hall effect The fractional quantum Hall effect is a physical phenomenon in which the Hall conductance of 2D electrons shows precisely quantised plateaus at fractional values of e^2/h. It is a property of a collective state in which electrons bind magnetic flux lines to make new quasiparticles, and excitations... , Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and... (1998) |
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| Ronald McNair Ronald McNair Ronald Ervin McNair, Ph.D. was a physicist and NASA astronaut. McNair died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L.-Background:... |
1976 | One of the Challenger Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California... astronauts |
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| Robert Noyce Robert Noyce Robert Norton Noyce , nicknamed "the Mayor of Silicon Valley", co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 and Intel in 1968... |
1953 | One of the Shockley Semiconductor "Traitorous Eight Traitorous Eight The Traitorous Eight, as they became known, are eight men who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory to form Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957. More neutral terms include the "Fairchild Eight" and the "Shockley Eight." They have sometimes been called "Fairchildren," although this term has been also... ", Co-inventor of the integrated circuit Integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material... , Co-founder of Intel |
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| William D. Phillips | 1976 | Laser Cooling Laser cooling Laser cooling refers to the number of techniques in which atomic and molecular samples are cooled through the interaction with one or more laser light fields... , Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and... (1997) |
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| Burton Richter Burton Richter Burton Richter is a Nobel Prize-winning American physicist. He led the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center team which co-discovered the J/ψ meson in 1974, alongside the Brookhaven National Laboratory team led by Samuel Ting. This discovery was part of the so-called November Revolution of particle... |
1952 | 1956 | Discovery of the J/ψ particle, Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and... (1976) |
| John Robert Schrieffer John Robert Schrieffer John Robert Schrieffer is an American physicist and, with John Bardeen and Leon N Cooper, recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize for Physics for developing the BCS theory, the first successful microscopic theory of superconductivity.-Biography:... |
1953 | BCS theory BCS theory BCS theory — proposed by Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer in 1957 — is the first microscopic theory of superconductivity since its discovery in 1911. The theory describes superconductivity as a microscopic effect caused by a "condensation" of pairs of electrons into a boson-like state... , Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and... (1972) |
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| William Shockley William Shockley William Bradford Shockley Jr. was an American physicist and inventor. Along with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain, Shockley co-invented the transistor, for which all three were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics.Shockley's attempts to commercialize a new transistor design in the 1950s... |
1936 | Co-inventor of the transistor Transistor A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current... , Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and... (1956) |
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| George Smoot George Smoot George Fitzgerald Smoot III is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, Nobel laureate, and $1 million TV quiz show prize winner . He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for his work on COBE with John C... |
1966 | 1970 | Structure of cosmic microwave background radiation Cosmic microwave background radiation In cosmology, cosmic microwave background radiation is thermal radiation filling the observable universe almost uniformly.... , Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and... (2006) |
| Carl E. Wieman | 1973 | Bose-Einstein Condensate Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and... (2001) |
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