1 | Name: | Dr. David Gross | |
Institution: | Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara | ||
Year Elected: | 2007 | ||
Class: | 1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences | ||
Subdivision: | 106. Physics | ||
Residency: | Resident | ||
Living? : | Living | ||
Birth Date: | 1941 | ||
David Gross directs the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is also Frederick W. Gluck Professor of Theoretical Physics. A distinguished scientist and a leader in elementary particle theory, he received the 2004 Nobel Prize for his influential contributions to the theory of strong interactions, most notably the proof of asymptotic freedom in quantum chromodynamics, an essential building block in the now well established Standard Model. Gross has also had an important impact on developments in superstring theory, in particular as co-discoverer of the heterotic string that many in the particle theory community view as the most promising road to a fundamental theory underlying the unification of gravity with the Standard Model. After receiving his Ph.D., from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966, David Gross became a junior fellow at Harvard University. In 1969 he joined the faculty of Princeton University, where he was appointed Professor of Physics in 1972, and later Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics and Thomas Jones Professor of Mathematical Physics. In his current position Gross has taken an active and positive role in shaping scientific programs, and he has served with distinction on many national committees. His numerous honors include the Dirac Medal, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship Prize and membership in the American Physical Society, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. David Gross was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2007. |