Frank Wilczek

Biography

Abstract

Frank Wilczek is Herman Feschbach Professor of Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (2000-present). Other institutional affiliations include Princeton University, University of California, Santa Barbara, and the Institute for Advanced Study. In 2004, he was part of the team that won the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction.

Important Dates

1951Birth, New York (N.Y.).

1970Obtained BS in Mathematics, University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1972Obtained MA in Mathematics, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1974Obtained PhD in Physics, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1974 – 1981Instructor (1974); Assistant Professor of Physics (1974-1978); Associate Professor of Physics (1978-1980); and Professor of Physics (1980-1981), Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1976 – 1977Visiting Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (N.J.).

1978 – 1982Member, High Energy Advisory Committee, Brookhaven National Laboratory.

1980 – 1992Professor of Physics (1980-1984); Member, Institute for Theoretical Physics (1980-1988); Chancellor Robert Huttenback Professor of Physics (1984-1990); and Member, Advisory Board, Institute for Theoretical Physics (1989-1992), University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara (Calif.).

1982Fellowship, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

1986Awarded J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics, American Physical Society.

1986 – 1988Member, High Energy Physics Advisory Panel, United States Department of Energy.

1986 – 1988Regent's Fellow, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

1987 – 1988Visiting Professor, Harvard University.

1989 – 2000Professor (1989-1997) and J. Robert Oppenheimer Professor, School of Natural Science (1997-2000), Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (N.J.).

1990Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1993Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1994 – 1997Leland J. Haworth Distinguished Scientist, Brookhaven National Laboratory.

1998Lorentz Professor, University of Leiden.

2000Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

2000 – presentHerman Feshbach Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

2001 – presentEditor in Chief, Annals of Physics.

2002 – presentMember, Science Policy Committee, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

2002 – presentAdjunct Professor, Center for Scientific Studies, Valdivia.

2003Awarded Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize, American Physical Society.

2003 – 2007Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

2004Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics with David J. Gross and H. David Politzer "for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction".

2006 – presentMember, Board of Governors, New York Academy of Sciences.

2007Visiting Professor, Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (NORDITA).

2008Rudolf Peierls Visiting Professor of Physics, Oxford University.

2008 – presentMember, Board of Trustees, Society for Science and the Public.

Occupation

Theoretical physicist.

Places

Birth

New York (N.Y.)

Undergraduate Education

Chicago (Ill.)

Graduate Education

Princeton (N.J.)

Employment

Princeton (N.J.)

Santa Barbara (Calif.)

Princeton (N.J.)

Cambridge (Mass.)

Subjects

Mathematical physics.

Quantum chromodynamics.

Symmetry (Physics).

Theoretical physics.

Relationships

People

Family

Devine, Betsy

Wife.

Wilczek, Amity

Daughter.

Wilczek, Mira

Daughter.

Advisors & Collaborators

Bialek, William S.

Advised by Wilczek at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Gross, David J. (David Jonathan)

PhD advisor at Princeton University, "Non-abelian gauge theories and asymptotic freedom"; shared 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics with H. David Politzer "for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction"; and both employed at Princeton University.

Politzer, H. David, 1949-

Shared 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics along with David J. Gross "for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction".

Colleagues

Adler, Stephen L.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Ahlers, G. (Günter)

Both employed at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Aizenman, Michael

Both employed at Princeton University.

Anderson, P. W. (Philip W.), 1923-

Both employed at Princeton University.

Austin, Robert H.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Bahcall, John N.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Bargmann, V. (Valentine), 1908-1989

Both employed at Princeton University.

Benedek, George Bernard, 1928-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Callan, Curtis G.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Christ, Norman

Both employed at Princeton University.

Coppi, B.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Deutsch, Martin, 1917-2002

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Dicke, Robert H. (Robert Henry)

Both employed at Princeton University.

Dresselhaus, M. S.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Dyson, Freeman J.

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Enge, Harald A.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Feshbach, Herman

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Fitch, Val L., 1923-2015

Both employed at Princeton University.

Freedman, Daniel Z.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Freedman, Stuart J.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Friedman, Jerome I. (Jerome Isaac), 1930-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Goldberger, Marvin L.

Both employed at Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study.

Goldstone, Jeffrey

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Guth, Alan H.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Happer, William, 1939-

Both employed at Princeton University.

Hartle, J. B. (James B.)

Both employed at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Heeger, Alan J.

Both employed at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Hopfield, John J.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Horowitz, Gary T., 1955-

Both employed at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Jackiw, Roman W.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Javan, Ali, 1926-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Joannopoulos, J. D. (John D.), 1947-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kaspi, Victoria Michelle, 1967-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kastner, Marc A.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Ketterle, Wolfgang

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kivelson, Steven

Both employed at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Kleppner, Daniel

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kohn, Walter, 1923-2016

Both employed at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Langer, James S.

Both employed at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Lax, Benjamin

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Lee, P. A. (Patrick A.), 1946-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Lieb, Elliott H.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Low, Francis E. (Francis Eugene), 1921-2007

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Morrison, Philip

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Peale, Stanton Jerrold

Both employed at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Porkolab, Miklos

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Randall, Lisa

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Scalapino, Douglas J.

Both employed at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Schrieffer, J. R. (John Robert), 1931-

Both employed at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Seiberg, Nathan

Both employed at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Shenstone, A. G. (Allen Goodrich)

Both employed at Princeton University.

Shull, Clifford Glenwood

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Smyth, Henry De Wolf, 1898-1986

Both employed at Princeton University.

Strominger, Andrew Eben

Both employed at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Taylor, Joseph H. (Joseph Hooton)

Both employed at Princeton University.

Ting, S. C. C. (Samuel Chao-chung), 1936-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Treiman, Sam B.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Weiss, Rainer

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Weisskopf, Victor Frederick, 1908-2002

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Wheeler, John Archibald, 1911-2008

Both employed at Princeton University.

Wightman, A. S. (Arthur Strong), 1922-2013

Both employed at Princeton University.

Wigner, Eugene Paul, 1902-1995

Both employed at Princeton University.

Wilkinson, David T.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Witherell, Michael S., 1949-

Both employed at Princeton University and University of California, Santa Barbara.

Witten, E.

Both employed at Princeton University and Institute for Advanced Study.

Institutions

Major Positions

Centro de Estudios Científicos

Adjunct Professor.

Harvard University. Department of Physics

Visiting Professor.

Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, N.J.)

Visiting Fellow and Professor and J. Robert Oppenheimer Professor, School of Natural Sciences.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics.

Nordisk institut for teoretisk atomfysik

Visiting Professor.

Princeton University. Department of Physics

Obtained PhD (1974). Instructor; Assistant Professor; Associate Professor; and Professor.

Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden

Lorentz Professor.

University of California, Santa Barbara. Department of Physics

Professor and Chancellor Robert Huttenback Professor.

University of Oxford. Department of Physics

Rudolf Peierls Visiting Professor.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Fellow.

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Fellow.

American Physical Society

Received 1986 J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics and 2003 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize.

Annual Reviews, Inc.

Editor in Chief, Annals of Physics.

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Member, High Energy Advisory Committee and Leland J. Haworth Distinguished Scientist.

European Organization for Nuclear Research

Member, Science Policy Committee.

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Fellow.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

New York Academy of Sciences

Member, Board of Governors.

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Member, Scientific Advisory Committee.

Princeton University. Department of Mathematics

Obtained MA (1972).

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

Regent's Fellow.

Society for Science & the Public

Member, Board of Trustees.

United States. Department of Energy

Member, High Energy Advisory Panel.

University of California, Santa Barbara. Institute for Theoretical Physics

Member, Advisory Board.

University of Chicago. Department of Mathematics

Obtained BS (1970).

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Gravity Research Foundation essays and abstracts, 1949-2015.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

One hundred fifty years of Maxwell's equations (1862-2012) [sound recording], 2012 February 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

QFT and QCD: past, present, and future [videorecording], 2005 March 18 and 19.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

American Institute of Physics Physics Today division Bertram Schwarzschild Nobel Prize files, 1954-2013.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Fantastic realities : 49 mind journeys and a trip to Stockholm / Frank Wilczek, with a contribution from Betsy Devine.

Geometric phases in physics / [edited by] Alfred Shapere, Frank Wilczek.

Longing for the harmonies : themes and variations from modern physics / Frank Wilczek and Betsy Devine.

Subject

Frank Wilczek Nobel Prize autobiography

Nobel Winner Frank Wilczek Chats w/ Jim Clash

The J. Robert Oppenheimer Lecture - Frank Wilczek

Video: MIT150 "Infinite History" interview