MIT Physics Department

The Physics Department at MIT has over 120 faculty members. It offers academic programs leading to the SB, SM, PhD, and ScD degrees.

As of 2018, the department counts five Nobel Prize winners among its faculty: Samuel C.C. Ting (1976), Jerome I. Friedman (1990), Wolfgang Ketterle (2001), Frank Wilczek (2004) and Rainer Weiss (2017). A few other former faculty members have also been so honored: Clifford Shull (1994), Henry Kendall (1990), Steven Weinberg (1979) and Charles H. Townes (1964). MIT Physics alumni who have received the Nobel Prize for Physics are Adam Riess (2011), George Smoot (2006), Eric A. Cornell and Carl E. Wieman (2001), Robert B. Laughlin (1998), William D. Phillips (1997), Burton Richter (1976), John Robert Schrieffer (1972), Murray Gell-Mann (1969), Richard Feynman (1965) and William Shockley (1956).

Academics

Undergraduate academics

There are two paths to earning a bachelor's degree (SB) in physics from MIT. The first, "Course 8 Focused Option", is for students intending to continue studying physics in graduate school.

The second, "Course 8 Flexible Option" is designed for those students who would like to develop a strong background in physics but who do not necessarily want to pursue graduate work in the field.

Notable alumni

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
NameSBPhDNotability
Eric A. Cornell1990Bose-Einstein Condensate,
Nobel Prize in Physics (2001)
Richard Feynman1939Quantum Electrodynamics,
Nobel Prize in Physics (1965)
Murray Gell-Mann1951Quarks,
Nobel Prize in Physics (1969)
Gerald Guralnik1958Co-discoverer of Higgs mechanism and Higgs boson in 1964 with C.R. Hagen, SB'58, SM '58, PhD '63
J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics (2010)[1][2]
Professor of Physics, Brown University
C. R. Hagen19581963Co-discoverer of Higgs mechanism and Higgs boson in 1964 with Gerald Guralnik, SB'58
First to derive Wallis formula for pi from physics and quantum mechanics[3][4][5][6][7][8]
J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics (2010)[9][10][11]
Professor of Physics, University of Rochester
J. David Jackson1949Classical Electrodynamics (textbook)
Shirley Jackson19681973President of RPI
Jay Last1956One of the Shockley Semiconductor "traitorous eight"
Robert B. Laughlin1979Fractional Quantum Hall Effect,
Nobel Prize in Physics (1998)
Ronald McNair1976One of the Challenger astronauts
Robert Noyce1953One of the Shockley Semiconductor "traitorous eight",
Co-inventor of the integrated circuit,
Co-founder of Intel
William D. Phillips1976Laser Cooling,
Nobel Prize in Physics (1997)
Burton Richter19521956Discovery of the J/ψ particle,
Nobel Prize in Physics (1976)
John Robert Schrieffer1953BCS theory,
Nobel Prize in Physics (1972)
William Shockley1936Co-inventor of the transistor,
Nobel Prize in Physics (1956)
George Smoot19661970Structure of cosmic microwave background radiation,
Nobel Prize in Physics (2006)
Adam Riess1992High-Z Supernova Search Team
Nobel Prize in Physics (2011)
Carl E. Wieman1973Bose-Einstein Condensate
Nobel Prize in Physics (2001)

References

  1. ↑ American Physical Society - J. J. Sakurai Prize Winners
  2. ↑ MIT Technology Review - Hagen and Guralnik’s award-winning physics work began during MIT undergraduate days, Spring 2010
  3. ↑ T. Friedmann ; C.R. Hagen. "Quantum mechanical derivation of the Wallis formula for pi." Journal of Mathematical Physics Vol. 56 (2015)
  4. ↑ "Quantum mechanical derivation of the Wallis formula for pi." Journal of Mathematical Physics Vol. 56 (arxiv)
  5. ↑ "Discovery of classic pi formula a ‘cunning piece of magic'." University of Rochester (November 10, 2015
  6. ↑ "New derivation of pi links quantum physics and pure math." American Institute of Physics (November 10, 2015)
  7. ↑ "New derivation of pi links quantum physics and pure math." Phys.org (November 10, 2015)
  8. ↑ "Revealing the hidden connection between pi and Bohr's hydrogen model." Physics World (November 17, 2015)
  9. ↑ University of Rochester - C.R. Hagen Wins 2010 J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ American Physical Society - J. J. Sakurai Prize Winners
  11. ↑ MIT Technology Review - Hagen and Guralnik’s award-winning physics work began during MIT undergraduate days, Spring 2010
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