| 1 | Name: | Dr. Philip W. Anderson | |
| Institution: | Princeton University | ||
| Year Elected: | 1991 | ||
| Class: | 1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 106. Physics | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1923 | ||
| Death Date: | March 29, 2020 | ||
One of the giants of the theory of condensed matter physics, Philip W. Anderson was born in Indiana in 1923. He went to Harvard University for his undergraduate and graduate work, where he studied under John Hausbrouck van Vleck. In 35 years as a physicist at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, Dr. Anderson worked on a wide variety of problems in condensed matter physics. He was awarded the 1977 Nobel Prize for his investigations into the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems, which allowed for the development of electronic switching and memory devices in computers. Dr. Anderson was a pioneer in the study of "Anderson localization" of electrons in disordered solids, the transitions between metallic and insulating states, and the concept of spin glasses. A theorist who always maintained close contact with experimentalists, he ranged from physics, through chemistry, to biology. Dr. Anderson was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1982. He served as Joseph Henry Professor of Physics at Princeton University. Philip W. Anderson died March 29, 2020 in Princeton, New Jersey at the age of 96. | |||