| Authorised form of name | Anderson; Philip Warren (1923 - 2020) |
| Dates | 1923 - 2020 |
| Nationality | American |
| Place of birth | Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, United States, North and Central America |
| Date of birth | 13/12/1923 |
| Place of death | Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey, United States, North and Central America |
| Occupation | Physicist |
| Research field | Superconductors |
| Condensed matter |
| Antiferromagnetism |
| Localization theory |
| Broken symmetry (physics) |
| Spin glasses |
| Activity | Education:
University Laboratory High School, Urbana (1940); Harvard University
Career:
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory; Bell Laboratories, New Jersey (1949-1984); Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge (1967-1975); Joseph Henry Professor Emeritus of Physics, Princeton University; board member, Scientists and Engineers for America
Memberships:
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1963)
Medals and prizes:
Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize (1964); National Medal of Science (1982); Nobel Prize (Physics) 1977 |
| Membership category | Foreign Member |
| Date of election | 24/04/1980 |
| Age at election | 56 |
| OtherInfo | Philip Anderson was a physicist whose investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems led to an improved understanding of the nature of metals and insulators. He shared the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Philip discovered electron localisation inside a semiconductor, research that led to what is now called Anderson localisation — a general phenomenon that applies to the transport of quantum waves. He also invented several mathematical methods, including the Anderson Hamiltonian, which is used to describe magnetic impurities embedded in metals, and the Anderson–Higgs mechanism for generating mass in elementary particles. With John Rowell, he demonstrated the Josephson effect in superconductors.
Philip authored several scientific books, including Concepts of Solids, Basic Notions of Condensed Matter Physics (1997) and More and Different (2012). He also contributed to the philosophy of science, writing an article ‘More is Different’ for the journal Science in 1972, which outlined the limitations of reductionism and the existence of hierarchical levels of science.
Professor Philip Anderson ForMemRS died on 29 March 2020. |
| Source | References:
Peter Day, 'Molecular magnets: the prehistory' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 95-103
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_W._Anderson |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/265993795 |
| Code | NA4046 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EC/1980/42 | Anderson, Philip Warren: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 1980 |
| IM/000097 | Anderson, Philip Warren | nd |
| IM/000098 | Anderson, Philip Warren | nd |