| 1 | Name: | Dr. Walter Kohn | |
| Institution: | University of California, Santa Barbara | ||
| Year Elected: | 1994 | ||
| Class: | 1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 106. Physics | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1923 | ||
| Death Date: | April 20, 2016 | ||
Walter Kohn was Professor of Physics Emeritus and Research Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara at the time of his death on April 20, 2016 at the age of 93. A condensed matter theorist, Dr. Kohn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1998 for his development of the density-functional theory. He made seminal contributions to the understanding of the electronic structure of materials and played a leading role in the development of the density functional theory, which has revolutionized scientists' approach to the electronic structure of atoms, molecules and solid materials in physics, chemistry and materials science. With the advent of supercomputers, density functional theory has become an essential tool for electronic materials science. Dr. Kohn also made major contributions to the physics of semiconductors, superconductivity, surface physics and catalysis. As the founding director of the National Science Foundation's Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he helped transform the Institute into one of the leading research centers in physics. Prior to joining UCSB in 1979, Dr. Kohn taught at Harvard University (1948-50), the Carnegie Institute of Technology (1950-53), and the University of California, San Diego (1953-79). He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1948. Dr. Kohn was the recipient of numerous honors, including a Guggenheim fellowship (1963), the Oliver Buckley Prize (1960), the National Medal of Science (1988) and membership in the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. | |||