Charles Kittel

Charles Kittel (July 18, 1916 – May 15, 2019) was an American physicist. He was a Professor at University of California, Berkeley from 1951 and was Professor Emeritus from 1978 until his death.[1]

Charles Kittel
Born(1916-07-18)July 18, 1916
New York City, U.S.
DiedMay 15, 2019(2019-05-15) (aged 102)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Known forRKKY interaction
Introduction to Solid State Physics textbook
AwardsOliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize (1957)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Berkeley
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bell Laboratories
ThesisThe fine structure of nuclear energy levels on the alpha model (1941)
Doctoral advisorGregory Breit
Doctoral studentsRaymond L. Orbach
Elihu Abrahams
Websitephysics.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/charles-kittel

Life and work

Charles Kittel was born in New York City in 1916.[2][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). He served in the United States Navy as a naval attache. From 1947 to 1951, he worked for Bell Laboratories, New Jersey, USA, especially on ferromagnetism.[5]

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 a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1945, 1956 and 1963. Many well-known postdoctoral fellows worked with him, including James C. Phillips and Pierre-Gilles de Gennes.[6]

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 was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, elected in 1957.[7]

Kittel died on May 15, 2019 at the age of 102.[8]

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. "Charles Kittel, Array of Contemporary American Physicists". Archived from the original on 2016-12-31. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  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.
  5. American Institute of Physics-Charles Kittel
  6. Alphabetical list of Fellows on John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation's website.
  7. http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/53767.html
  8. Remembering Charles Kittel
  9. "Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize". AIP. Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  10. Karplus, Robert (1979). "Oersted Medal". The Physics Teacher. 17 (4): 262–279. Bibcode:1979PhTea..17..262K. doi:10.1119/1.2340210.
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