Tom Lubensky

Last updated

Tom C. Lubensky (born Kansas City, Missouri 7 May 1943) is an American physicist. He is currently the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was Mary Amanda Wood professor of physics (1998–2009) and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Dr. Lubensky received his B.S. in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1964 and both his M.A. (1965) and Ph.D. (1969) in physics from Harvard University. He was an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Paris in Orsay (1969–70) and a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University (1970–71). He joined the University of Pennsylvania in 1971, promoted to associate professor in 1975 and to full professor in 1980. [1]

Memberships

He is a fellow of the American Physical Society (1985), American Association for the Advancement of Science (2000), elected member of the National Academy of Sciences (2002) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2007), Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1975–77), Guggenheim Fellow (1981), and honored member of the International Liquid Crystal Society. [3]

Awards

In 2004 Dr. Lubensky received Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize for seminal contributions to the theory of condensed matter systems including the prediction and elucidation of the properties of new, partially ordered phases of complex materials. [4] Lubensky also was named to the Patricia M. Williams Term Chair at the University of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 1998. [4]

Books

Lubensky is the coauthor of the textbook Principles of Condensed Matter Physics [5] ( ISBN   0-521-43224-3) with Paul Chaikin.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Condensed matter physics</span> Branch of physics

Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases, that arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms and electrons. More generally, the subject deals with condensed phases of matter: systems of many constituents with strong interactions among them. More exotic condensed phases include the superconducting phase exhibited by certain materials at extremely low cryogenic temperatures, the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases of spins on crystal lattices of atoms, the Bose–Einstein condensates found in ultracold atomic systems, and liquid crystals. Condensed matter physicists seek to understand the behavior of these phases by experiments to measure various material properties, and by applying the physical laws of quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, and other physics theories to develop mathematical models and predict the properties of extremely large groups of atoms.

Sajeev John, OC, FRSC is a Professor of Physics at the University of Toronto and Canada Research Chair holder. He is known for his discovery of photonic crystals.

The λ (lambda) universality class is a group in condensed matter physics. It regroups several systems possessing strong analogies, namely, superfluids, superconductors and smectics. All these systems are expected to belong to the same universality class for the thermodynamic critical properties of the phase transition. While these systems are quite different at the first glance, they all are described by similar formalisms and their typical phase diagrams are identical.

Paul Michael Chaikin is an American physicist known particularly for many significant contributions to the field of soft condensed matter physics.

David Pines was a US physicist recognized for his work in quantum many-body systems in condensed matter and nuclear physics. With his advisor David Bohm, he contributed to the understanding of electron interactions in metals. Bohm and Pines introduced the plasmon, the quantum of electron density oscillations in metals. They pioneered the use of the random phase approximation. His work with John Bardeen on electron-phonon interactions led to the development of the BCS theory of superconductivity. Pines extended BCS theory to nuclear physics to explain stability of isotopes with even and odd numbers of nucleons. He also used the theory of superfluidity to explain the glitches in neutron stars.

The distortion free energy density is a quantity that describes the increase in the free energy density of a liquid crystal caused by distortions from its uniformly aligned configuration. It also commonly goes by the name Frank free energy density named after Frederick Charles Frank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Robert Nelson</span> American physicist (born 1951)

David R. Nelson is an American physicist, and Arthur K. Solomon Professor of Biophysics, at Harvard University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinedum Osuji</span> Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at University of Pennsylvania

Chinedum Osuji is the Eduardo D. Glandt Presidential Professor and the departmental chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering (CBE) at University of Pennsylvania. He is also a former Taekwondo Olympian and represented Trinidad and Tobago. His laboratory works on polymers and soft materials for functional application including liquid filtration. He is the associate editor of the journal Macromolecules.

Ranganathan Shashidhar is a US-based Indian condensed matter physicist and a former head of the Laboratory for Molecularly Engineered Materials and Surface of the Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering, a division of the United States Naval Research Laboratory. Known for his research on liquid crystals, Shashidhar is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the senior vice president of Polestar Technologies, a US-based company involved in the development of sensing technologies. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to Physical Sciences in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giulia Galli</span> American condensed-matter physicist

Giulia Galli is a condensed-matter physicist. She is the Liew Family Professor of Electronic Structure and Simulations in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and the department of chemistry at the University of Chicago and senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. She is also the director of the Midwest Integrated Center for Computational Materials. She is recognized for her contributions to the fields of computational condensed-matter, materials science, and nanoscience, most notably first principles simulations of materials and liquids, in particular materials for energy, properties of water, and excited state phenomena.

Robert Bruce Meyer was an American physicist and professor at Brandeis University.

Noel Anthony Clark is an American physicist, university professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, and pioneer in the development of electro-optical applications of liquid crystals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James L. Skinner</span> American theoretical chemist (born 1953)

James L. Skinner is an American theoretical chemist. He is the Joseph O. and Elizabeth S. Hirschfelder Professor Emeritus at the University Wisconsin-Madison. Until 2024 he was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Welch Foundation. Until 2020, Skinner was the Crown Family Professor of Molecular Engineering, professor of chemistry, director of the Water Research Initiative and deputy dean for faculty affairs of the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. Skinner is recognized for his contributions to the fields of theoretical chemistry, nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, linear and nonlinear spectroscopy of liquids, amorphous and crystalline solids, surfaces, proteins, and supercritical fluids. Skinner is the co-author of over 230 peer-reviewed research articles.

Arjun Gaurang Yodh is an American physicist. He is the James M. Skinner Professor of Science at the University of Pennsylvania and former Director of the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randall Kamien</span> American physicist (born 1966)

Randall David Kamien is a theoretical condensed matter physicist specializing in the physics of liquid crystals and is the Vicki and William Abrams Professor in the Natural Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ali Yazdani is an American physicist who focuses on understanding new quantum phases of matter. He is currently the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University and the co-director of the Princeton Quantum Initiative. Yazdani is known for his research in advancing our understanding of emergent quantum phenomena by the application and development of high-resolution quantum microscopy techniques to directly visualize highly entangled quantum states of matter.

Michael Cohen was an American condensed matter physicist and professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. He worked on theoretical understanding of liquid helium, ferroelectrics, and biological membranes using quantum mechanics.

Kristen A. Fichthorn is an American chemical engineer and condensed matter physicist

Ivan I. Smalyukh is a physicist working in soft condensed matter physics, especially in the domain of liquid crystals. He is a professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder and director of the International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter with headquarters at Hiroshima University. Smalyukh was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, among many other awards. He and his research group hold the Guinness record for achieving the highest visible-range optical transparency in a material.

Leo Radzihovsky is a Russian American condensed matter physicist and academic serving as a professor of Distinction in Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder.

References

  1. 1 2 "Mary Amanda Wood Chair: Dr. Tom Lubensky" (PDF). www.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  2. "Tom Lubensky Biography". www.mrsec.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  3. "Tom C. Lubensky". www.physics.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  4. 1 2 "2004 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize Recipient". APS . Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  5. Karakashian, A. S. (2001). "A Review of "Principles of Condensed Matter Physics" by PM Chaikin and TC Lubensky, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2000, ISBN 0 521 79450 1 (paperback)". Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Science and Technology. Section A. Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals. 369 (1): 275. doi:10.1080/10587250108030023. S2CID   96677269.