American Philosophical Society
Member History

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Residency
Resident (2)
Class
1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences[X]
Subdivision
106. Physics[X]
1Name:  Dr. Gordon Alan Baym
 Institution:  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign & Niels Bohr Institute
 Year Elected:  2000
 Class:  1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences
 Subdivision:  106. Physics
 Residency:  Resident
 Living? :   Living
 Birth Date:  1935
   
 
Gordon Baym received a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University in 1960. He was an NSF postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen (1960-62), and then a lecturer and assistant research physicist at the University of California, Berkeley (1962-63). In 1963, he moved to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign where he has served as Center for Advanced Study Professor of Physics and George and Ann Fisher Distinguished Professor of Engineering. He is currently Professor Emeritus and Research Professor at University of Illinois, as well as Adjunct Professor at the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen. He was an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research fellow (1965-67) and an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellow (1983-88). A theoretical physicist of unusual depth and breadth, he pioneered the application of field-theoretic methods to quantum condensed matter systems. He is a leading theorist of quantum solids and liquids, nuclei, astronomical objects, and ultracold trapped atomic systems. His papers on neutron stars described the unusual matter they contain, their structure, and formation in supernova explosions. He played a key intellectual role in building the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven. Active in the history of science, he chaired the American Physical Society Forum on the History of Physics (1995-97). Dr. Baym is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. Among his awards are three from the American Physical Society: the Hans A. Bethe Prize in 2002, the Lars Onsager Prize in 2008, and the Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research in 2021. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2000.
 
2Name:  Dr. Mary K. Gaillard
 Institution:  University of California, Berkeley
 Year Elected:  2000
 Class:  1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences
 Subdivision:  106. Physics
 Residency:  Resident
 Living? :   Living
 Birth Date:  1939
   
 
Mary Gaillard is a theoretical physicist who has specialized in the physics of elementary particles. Since 1964 she has been a prolific contributor (well over 100 papers) to the understanding of the weak, the electroweak, and the strong interactions. Many of her early papers show how to use the weak decay interactions to examine the symmetries and dynamics of the strong. Several of her papers from the 1970s have turned out to be highly prescient and have become standard references in the field. Most recently she has been attempting to extract real physics from superstrings. In addition to these highly technical contributions, Dr. Gaillard has contributed greatly to the field in other ways. She has served on innumerable advisory and program committees for many different laboratories and national organizations. She was also chair of a committee of the American Physical Society to examine the status of women in physics and served on another which examined academic positions for women in physics and astronomy. A member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Physical Society, Dr. Gaillard has served as a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkelely since 1981. In 2015 she published her autobiography, A Singularly Unfeminine Profession: One Woman's Journey in Physics.
 
Election Year
2000[X]