P. W. Anderson

Biography

Abstract

Philip Warren Anderson is a Nobel laureate, who has made contributions to the theories of localization, antiferromagnetism, symmetry breaking, and high-temperature superconductivity.

Important Dates

December 13, 1923Birth, Indianapolis (Ind.).

1943Obtained BS, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1943 – 1945Researcher, Naval Research Laboratory, United States Navy.

1947Obtained MA, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1949Obtained PhD, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1949 – 1967Member, Technical Staff (1949-1967) and Chair, Theoretical Physics Department (1959-1961), Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1961 – 1962Visiting Fellow, Churchill College, Cambridge University, Cambridge (England).

1963Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1964Awarded Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize, American Physical Society.

1967Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1967 – 1975Professor of Theoretical Physics (1967-1975) and Fellow, Jesus College (1969-1975), Cambrige University, Cambridge (England).

1974 – 1984Assistant Director, Physical Research Laboratory (1974-1976) and Consulting Director, Physical Research Laboratory (1976-1984), Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1975 – presentJoseph Henry Professor of Physics (1975-1997) and Emeritus Professor of Physics (1997-present), Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1976 – 1979Member, Council, National Academy of Sciences.

1977Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics with Sir Nevill Francis Mott and John Hasbrouck Van Vleck "for their fundamental theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems".

1982Awarded National Medal of Science.

1982 – 1985Member, Advisory Board, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara.

1982 – 1986Chair, Board of Trustees, Aspen Center for Physics.

1985 – presentExternal Professor (1985-present); Vice Chair, Science Board (1985-2001); Member, Science Board (1985-present); and Member, Steering Committee (1989-1997), Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe (N.M.).

1993 – 1994George Eastman Professor of Physics, Balliol College, Oxford University.

March 29, 2020Death, Princeton (N.J.).

Occupation

Condensed matter physicist.

Places

Birth

Indianapolis (Ind.)

Undergraduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Graduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Employment

Murray Hill (N.J.)

Cambridge (England)

Princeton (N.J.)

Santa Fe (N.M.)

Death

Princeton (N.J.)

Subjects

Broken symmetry (Physics).

Condensed matter.

Field theory (Physics).

Magnetic resonance.

Physics -- Industrial applications.

Spin waves.

Superconductivity.

Relationships

People

Family

Anderson, H. W. (Harry Warren), 1885-1971

Father.

Anderson, Joyce

Wife.

Anderson, Susan

Daughter.

Advisors & Collaborators

Haldane, F. Duncan M.

Advised by Anderson at University of Cambridge, "Anderson Model." Both employed at Princeton University.

Josephson, B. D. (Brian David), 1940-

Advised by Anderson at University of Cambridge.

Mott, N. F. (Nevill Francis), Sir, 1905-1996

Received 1977 Nobel Prize along with J. H. Van Vleck for "their fundamental theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems."

Van Vleck, J. H. (John Hasbrouck), 1899-1980

Ph.D advisor at Harvard University and received 1977 Nobel Prize along with Nevill Mott for "their fundamental theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems."

Colleagues

Aeppli, Gabriel

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Ahlers, G. (Günter)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Aizenman, Michael

Both employed at Princeton University.

Al'tshuler, B. L.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Appelbaum, J. A. (Joel A.)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Ashkin, Arthur, 1922-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Aspnes, D. E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Austin, Robert H.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Bardeen, John

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bargmann, V. (Valentine), 1908-1989

Both employed at Princeton University.

Birgeneau, Robert J. (Robert Joseph), 1942-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bishop, David John, 1951-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bleakney, Walker, 1901-1992

Both employed at Princeton University.

Bode, Hendrik W. (Hendrik Wade), 1905-1982

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Boyle, Willard S., 1924-2011

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Brattain, Walter H. (Walter Houser), 1902-1987

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Brinkman, William F. (William Frank), 1938-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Buchsbaum, Solomon J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Buckley, Oliver Ellsworth, 1887-1959

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bucksbaum, Philip H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Callan, Curtis G.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Cava, Robert J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chabal, Yves Jean, 1952-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chaikin, Paul M.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Chemla, D. S.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chu, Steven

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chynoweth, A. G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Clogston, Albert McCavour

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cohen, Marvin L.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Conwell, Esther M. (Esther Marley), 1922-2014

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Coppersmith, Susan Nan

Both employed at Princeton University.

Cutler, Cassius Chapin

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Darlington, Sidney, 1906-1997

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

David, Edward E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Dicke, Robert H. (Robert Henry)

Both employed at Princeton University.

DiSalvo, Francis

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Dolan, Gerald

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Eigler, Donald

Both employed at AT & T Bell Laboratories.

Eisenstein, James P. (James Philip)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Feher, George, 1924-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fisk, James B. (James Brown), 1910-1981

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fitch, Val L., 1923-2015

Both employed at Princeton University.

Fletcher, Harvey, 1884-1981

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fleury, Paul A.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Freedman, Stuart J.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Fulton, Theodore Alan

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Galt, John Kirtland, 1920-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Geballe, Theodore H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Goldberger, Marvin L.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Gossard, A. C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Gross, David J. (David Jonathan)

Both employed at Princeton University.

Hagstrum, Homer D.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Halperin, Bertrand I.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hamann, Donald, 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Happer, William, 1939-

Both employed at Princeton University.

Herring, William Conyers, 1914-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hohenberg, Pierre C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hopfield, John J.

Both employed at Princeton University and Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Jackson, Shirley Ann, 1946-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Javan, Ali, 1926-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Johnson, Peter D., 1952-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kaspi, Victoria Michelle, 1967-

Both employed at Princeton University.

Kelly, Mervin Joe

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kittel, Charles

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kompfner, Rudolf, 1909-1977

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kraichnan, Robert H., 1928-2008

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lander, James J., 1914-1996

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Laughlin, Robert B.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lax, Melvin J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

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

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Libchaber, Albert J.

Both employed at Princeton University and Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lieb, Elliott H.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Matthias, Bernd T., 1918-1980

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

McMillan, William L.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Murray, Cherry Ann

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Narath, Albert, 1933-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Osheroff, Douglas D.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Page, Lyman A.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Patel, C. Kumar N.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pearson, Gerald L. (Gerald Leondus)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Penzias, Arno A.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pfann, William G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Phillips, J. C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Phillips, Julia M.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pinczuk, Aron

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Polyakov, A. M.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Raghavachari, Krishnan

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Randall, Lisa

Both employed at Princeton University.

Raney, William P.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Rice, Thomas Maurice, 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Richards, Paul L. (Paul Linford)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Rowell, John Martin, 1935-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Sarachik, Myriam P.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Shank, C. V. (Charles V.)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Shenstone, A. G. (Allen Goodrich)

Both employed at Princeton University.

Shockley, William, 1910-1989

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smith, George E., 1930-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smith, Neville, 1942-2006

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smyth, Henry De Wolf, 1898-1986

Both employed at Princeton University.

Stillinger, F. H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Störmer, Horst

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Suhl, Harry

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Tank, David William, 1953-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Taylor, Joseph H. (Joseph Hooton)

Both employed at Princeton University.

Tersoff, J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Thomas, D. G. (David Gilbert), 1928-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Treiman, Sam B.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Tsui, D. C. (Daniel Chee), 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Weeks, John David

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

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.

Wilczek, Frank

Both employed at Princeton University.

Wilkinson, David T.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Wilson, Robert Woodrow, 1936-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Witherell, Michael S., 1949-

Both employed at Princeton University.

Witten, E.

Both employed at Princeton University.

Yariv, Amnon

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Additional

Ginzburg, V. L. (Vitaliĭ Lazarevich), 1916-2009

Gor'kov, L. P. (Lev Petrovich), 1929-

Hoddeson, Lillian

Landau, L. D. (Lev Davidovich), 1908-1968

McMillan, Edwin M. (Edwin Mattison), 1907-

Nambu, Yoichiro, 1921-2015

Pines, David, 1924-2018

Scalapino, Douglas J.

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

Schwinger, Julian, 1918-1994

Townes, Charles H.

Institutions

Major Positions

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Member, Technical Staff; Chair, Theoretical Physics Department; and Assistant Director and Consulting Director, Physical Research Laboratory.

Naval Research Laboratory (U.S.)

Researcher.

Princeton University. Department of Physics

Joseph Henry Professor of Physics and Emeritus Professor of Physics.

Santa Fe Institute (Santa Fe, N.M.)

External Professor; Vice Chair and Member, Science Board; and Member, Steering Committee.

University of Cambridge. Department of Physics

Professor of Theoretical Physics; Visiting Fellow, Churchill College; and Fellow, Jesus College.

University of Oxford. Department of Physics

George Eastman Professor of Physics, Balliol College.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

American Physical Society

Awarded 1964 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize winner.

Aspen Center for Physics

Chair, Board of Trustees.

Harvard University. Department of Physics

Obtained BS in 1943, MA in 1947, and PhD in 1949.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member, Council.

University of California, Santa Barbara. Institute for Theoretical Physics

Member, Advisory Board.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Lillian Hoddeson papers, 1904-2001.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with P. W. Anderson [videorecording], 1999-2002.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with P. W. Anderson, 1987 July 13.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with P. W. Anderson, 1988 May 10.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Philip Anderson, 1999 March 30, May 30, November 23 and June 29, 2000.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Philip W. Anderson papers, 1954-1980.

Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

Princeton University

1 Washington Road, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA

Philip W. Anderson papers. [Still in his possession]

Superfluidity and superconductivity: the past half-century, 2001.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

60 Years since BCS and 30 Years since Woodstock [sound recording], 2017 March 14.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

AIP Physics Today Division unpublished letters to the editors, 1972-1983.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

AT&T Archives and History Center records, 1869- present.

AT&T Archives and History Center

AT&T

5 Reinman Road, Warren, NJ 07060, USA

High-temperature superconducting materials [sound recording] : press conference ; 1987 March 19.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with William F. Brinkman, 2006 March 7 and April 26.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Press conference with Sir Nevill Mott and Philip Anderson after they won the Nobel Prize [sound recording] /1977 March.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Symposium honoring the 1977 Nobel Prize in physics recipients [sound recording].

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

A career in theoretical physics /P.W. Anderson.

Basic notions of condensed matter physics /P.W. Anderson.

Concepts in solids : lectures on the theory of solids /P.W. Anderson.

Subject

Walter Kohn : personal stories and anecdotes told by friends and collaborators /Matthias Scheffler, Peter Weinberger (eds.).