Charles Kittel

Charles Kittel[1][2]
Born (1916-07-18) July 18, 1916
New York City, New York
Nationality American
Alma mater University of Cambridge
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Awards Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize (1957)
Scientific career
Fields Physics
Institutions University of California, Berkeley
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bell Laboratories
Thesis The fine structure of nuclear energy levels on the alpha model (1941)
Doctoral advisor Gregory Breit
Doctoral students Raymond L. Orbach
Website physics.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/charles-kittel

Charles Kittel[2] (born July 18, 1916) is an American physicist. He was a Professor at University of California, Berkeley from 1951 and has been Professor Emeritus since 1978.[1]

Life and work

Charles Kittel was born in New York City in 1916.[3] He studied at the University of Cambridge, England, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1938. He published his thesis, under Gregory Breit, in 1941 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison[4] and joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) between 1945 and 1947. During World War II, he joined the Submarine Operations Research Group (SORG). From 1947 to 1951, he worked for Bell Laboratories, New Jersey, USA, especially on ferromagnetism.

From 1951 to 1978, he worked at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught and did research in the field of theoretical solid-state physics, a part of condensed-matter physics. He was awarded three times with Guggenheim Fellowships: in 1945, 1956 and 1963. Many well known postdoctoral fellows worked with him, including James C. Phillips and Pierre-Gilles de Gennes.[5]

Among other achievements, Kittel is credited with the theoretical discovery of the RKKY interaction (the first K standing for Kittel) and the Kittel magnon mode in ferromagnets.

Physics students worldwide study his classic text Introduction to Solid State Physics, now in its 8th edition. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, elected in 1957[6].

Awards

Works

  • Introduction to Solid State Physics, 1st ed. 1953 - 8th ed. 2005, ISBN 0-471-41526-X
  • Quantum Theory of Solids, 1963, ISBN 0-471-49025-3 and (with C. Y. Fong) 1987, ISBN 0-471-62412-8
  • Thermal Physics, 2nd ed. 1980, ISBN 0-7167-1088-9, and (with H. Kroemer) 1980.
  • Berkeley Physics Course. Mechanics. Vol. 1, with Walter Knight and Malvin A. Ruderman
  • Elementary Statistical Physics 1958

References

  1. 1 2 Charles Kittel, Array of Contemporary American Physicists
  2. 1 2 Charles Kittel - Illustrated Encyclopedia of Applied and Engineering Physics, p. 141
  3. ↑ Kittel's biography.
  4. ↑ Kittel, Charles (1941). The fine structure of nuclear energy levels on the alpha model (Ph.D.). University of Wisconsin–Madison. OCLC 948185111 – via ProQuest. (Subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ Alphabetical list of Fellows on John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation's website.
  6. ↑ http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/53767.html
  7. ↑ "Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize". AIP. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  8. ↑ Karplus, Robert (1979). "Oersted Medal". The Physics Teacher. 17 (4): 262. Bibcode:1979PhTea..17..262K. doi:10.1119/1.2340210.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.