Alan J. Heeger
Encyclopedia
Alan Jay Heeger is an American physicist
, academic and Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry
.
Heeger was born in Sioux City, Iowa
to a Jewish family. He earned a B.S. in physics and mathematics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1957, and a Ph.D
in physics from the University of California, Berkeley
in 1961. From 1962 to 1982 he was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania
. In 1982 he commenced his present appointment as a professor in the Physics Department
and the Materials Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara
. His research has led to the formation of numerous start-up companies including Uniax, Konarka, and Sirigen, founded in 2003 by Guillermo C. Bazan, Patrick J. Dietzen, Brent S. Gaylord. Alan Heeger was a founder of Uniax, which was acquired by DuPont
.
He won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2000 along with Alan G. MacDiarmid and Hideki Shirakawa
"for their discovery and development of conductive polymers;" he had won the Oliver E. Buckley Prize of the American Physical Society in 1983 and, in 1995, the Balzan Prize
for Science of Non-Biological Materials.
His sons are the neuroscientist
David Heeger
and the immunologist Peter Heeger.
In October 2010, Heeger participated in the USA Science and Engineering Festival
's Lunch with a Laureate program where middle and high school students engage in an informal conversation with a Nobel Prize-winning Scientist over a brown bag lunch. Heeger is also a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival
's Advisory Board. Heeger has been a judge of the STAGE
International Script Competition three times (2006, 2007, 2010).
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, academic and Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
.
Heeger was born in Sioux City, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
to a Jewish family. He earned a B.S. in physics and mathematics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1957, and a Ph.D
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in physics from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1961. From 1962 to 1982 he was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. In 1982 he commenced his present appointment as a professor in the Physics Department
UC Santa Barbara Physics Department
The Physics Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara has 58 faculty members. It offers academic programs leading to the B.A., B.S., and Ph.D. degrees.-Faculty Awards:...
and the Materials Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
. His research has led to the formation of numerous start-up companies including Uniax, Konarka, and Sirigen, founded in 2003 by Guillermo C. Bazan, Patrick J. Dietzen, Brent S. Gaylord. Alan Heeger was a founder of Uniax, which was acquired by DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
.
He won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2000 along with Alan G. MacDiarmid and Hideki Shirakawa
Hideki Shirakawa
Hideki Shirakawa is a Japanese chemist and winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of conductive polymers together with physics professor Alan J. Heeger and chemistry professor Alan G...
"for their discovery and development of conductive polymers;" he had won the Oliver E. Buckley Prize of the American Physical Society in 1983 and, in 1995, the Balzan Prize
Balzan Prize
The International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four annual monetary prizes to people or organisations who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of humanities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeavours for peace and the brotherhood of man.-Rewards and assets:Each year the...
for Science of Non-Biological Materials.
His sons are the neuroscientist
Neuroscientist
A neuroscientist is an individual who studies the scientific field of neuroscience or any of its related sub-fields...
David Heeger
David Heeger
David Heeger is a contemporary neuroscientist whose research focuses on biological and artificial vision.He has made a number of influential contributions. These include a model how one can measure motion from optic flow, a nonlinear model of responses in the visual cortex called the "normalization...
and the immunologist Peter Heeger.
In October 2010, Heeger participated in the USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival was a science festival in Washington, D.C. that founder Larry Book deemed the country’s first national science festival. The inaugural event was held from October 10, 2010 through October 24, 2010 and was planned to be a yearly event. The two week festival...
's Lunch with a Laureate program where middle and high school students engage in an informal conversation with a Nobel Prize-winning Scientist over a brown bag lunch. Heeger is also a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival was a science festival in Washington, D.C. that founder Larry Book deemed the country’s first national science festival. The inaugural event was held from October 10, 2010 through October 24, 2010 and was planned to be a yearly event. The two week festival...
's Advisory Board. Heeger has been a judge of the STAGE
Scientists, Technologists and Artists Generating Exploration
Scientists, Technologists and Artists Generating Exploration was created in 2005 to encourage collaboration between artists and scientists. Originally, it began as a partnership between the Professional Artists Lab and the California NanoSystems Institute at the University of California, Santa...
International Script Competition three times (2006, 2007, 2010).
External links
- Curriculum Vitae of Alan J. Heeger, webpage posted at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved November 18, 2007.
- Heeger Nobel Prize lecture
- Free to view video interview, Harry Kroto NL talks to Alan Heeger provided by the Vega Science Trust.
- UCSB profile
- Nobel Prize Documentation
- Photos and video from presentation in Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic