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Robert B. Laughlin
USINFO | 2013-11-19 15:00
| Robert Betts Laughlin | |
 |
|
| Born |
November 1, 1950 (age 62) Visalia, California, USA |
| Nationality | United States |
| Fields | Theoretical Physics |
| Institutions | Stanford |
| Alma mater |
MIT UC Berkeley |
| Known for | Quantum Hall effect |
| Notable awards |
Nobel Prize in physics (1998), The Franklin Medal (1998) |
Robert Betts Laughlin (born November 1, 1950) is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Physics[1] and Applied Physics at Stanford University. Along with Horst L. Störmer of Columbia University and Daniel C. Tsui of Princeton University, he was awarded a share of the 1998 Nobel Prize in physics for their explanation of the fractional quantum Hall effect.
Laughlin was born in Visalia, California. He earned a B.A. in Mathematics from UC Berkeley in 1972, and his Ph.D. in physics in 1979 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Between 2004 and 2006 he served as the president of KAIST in Daejeon, South Korea.
Laughlin shares similar views to George Chapline, doubting the existence of black holes.
Career
In 1983, Laughlin was first to provide a many body wave function, now known as the Laughlin wavefunction, for the fractional quantum hall effect, which was able to correctly explain the fractionalized charge observed in experiments. This state has since been interpreted to be a Bose-Einstein condensate.
View on climate change
Laughlin's view of climate change is that it may be important, but the future is impossible to change. He writes "The geologic record suggests that climate ought not to concern us too much when we’re gazing into the energy future, not because it’s unimportant, but because it’s beyond our power to control."
Awards
Laughlin (right) in the White House together with other 1998 US Nobel Prize Winners and the President Bill Clinton
E. O. Lawrence Award for Physics - 1985
Oliver E. Buckley Prize - 1986
National Academy of Sciences - 1994
Benjamin Franklin Medal for Physics - 1998
Nobel Prize in Physics - 1998
Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award - 1999
Doctorate of Letters, University of Maryland - 2005
Onsager Medal - 2007
