David Gross
Encyclopedia
David Jonathan Gross (born February 19, 1941) is an American
particle physicist
and string theorist
. Along with Frank Wilczek
and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics
for their discovery of asymptotic freedom
. He is currently the director and holder of the Frederick W. Gluck
Chair in Theoretical Physics at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
of the University of California, Santa Barbara
. He is also a faculty member in the UC Santa Barbara Physics Department
.
He was born in Washington, D.C.
to a Jewish family and raised in the United States. His father was Bertram Myron Gross
(1912–1998). Gross received his bachelor's degree
and master's degree
from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
, in 1962. He received his Ph.D.
in physics from the University of California, Berkeley
in 1966 under the supervision of Geoffrey Chew
.
He was a Junior Fellow
at Harvard University
and a Professor at Princeton University
until 1997. He was the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation
Fellowship in 1987, the Dirac Medal in 1988 and the Harvey Prize
in 2000.
In 1973, Gross, working with his first graduate student, Frank Wilczek
, at Princeton University
, discovered asymptotic freedom
, which holds that the closer quarks are to each other, the less the strong interaction
(or color charge
) between them; when quarks are in extreme proximity, the nuclear force between them is so weak that they behave almost as free particles. Asymptotic freedom, independently discovered by Politzer, was important for the development of quantum chromodynamics
.
Gross, with Jeffrey A. Harvey
, Emil Martinec
, and Ryan Rohm also formulated the theory of the heterotic string
. The four were to be whimsically nicknamed the Princeton String Quartet
Gross's hobby is fishing. He once caught a two and three quarters pound bluegill in Florida's Crystal Lake, narrowly missing that state's record.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
particle physicist
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
and string theorist
String theory
String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything , a manner of describing the known fundamental forces and matter in a mathematically complete system...
. Along with Frank Wilczek
Frank Wilczek
Frank Anthony Wilczek is a theoretical physicist from the United States and a Nobel laureate. He is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ....
and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
for their discovery of asymptotic freedom
Asymptotic freedom
In physics, asymptotic freedom is a property of some gauge theories that causes interactions between particles to become arbitrarily weak at energy scales that become arbitrarily large, or, equivalently, at length scales that become arbitrarily small .Asymptotic freedom is a feature of quantum...
. He is currently the director and holder of the Frederick W. Gluck
Frederick Gluck
Frederick W. "Fred" Gluck was a longtime top senior partner and director at management consultancy McKinsey & Company, serving as managing director from 1988 to 1994. At McKinsey he introduced the concept of fifteen “centers of competence”. He is a director at Amgen Inc...
Chair in Theoretical Physics at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics is a research institute of the University of California, Santa Barbara. KITP is one of the most renowned institutes for theoretical physics in the world. KITP programs bring theorists in physics and related fields together to work together on topics at...
of 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...
. He is also a faculty member in the UC Santa Barbara 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:...
.
Biography
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to a Jewish family and raised in the United States. His father was Bertram Myron Gross
Bertram Myron Gross
Bertram Myron Gross was an American Social scientist, Federal bureaucrat and Professor of Political science at Hunter College . He is known from his book Friendly Fascism from 1980 and as primary author of the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act.- Biography :Gross was born in Philadelphia...
(1912–1998). Gross received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, in 1962. He received his 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 1966 under the supervision of Geoffrey Chew
Geoffrey Chew
Geoffrey F. Chew is an American theoretical physicist.He has worked as a professor of physics at the UC Berkeley since 1957 and has been an emeritus since 1991. Chew holds a PhD in theoretical particle physics from the University of Chicago. Between 1950 and 1956, he was a physics faculty member...
.
He was a Junior Fellow
Harvard Society of Fellows
The Harvard Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginning of their careers by Harvard University for extraordinary scholarly potential, upon whom distinctive academic and intellectual opportunities are bestowed in order to foster their individual growth and intellectual...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and a Professor at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
until 1997. He was the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation
MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Based in Chicago but supporting non-profit organizations that work in 60 countries, MacArthur has awarded more than US$4 billion since its inception in 1978...
Fellowship in 1987, the Dirac Medal in 1988 and the Harvey Prize
Harvey Prize
The Harvey Prize is awarded by the Technion in Haifa, Israel. It is awarded in different disciplines of Science, Technology, Human Health, and Contributions to Peace in the Middle East. Two awards - each of $75,000 - are given away annually...
in 2000.
In 1973, Gross, working with his first graduate student, Frank Wilczek
Frank Wilczek
Frank Anthony Wilczek is a theoretical physicist from the United States and a Nobel laureate. He is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ....
, at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, discovered asymptotic freedom
Asymptotic freedom
In physics, asymptotic freedom is a property of some gauge theories that causes interactions between particles to become arbitrarily weak at energy scales that become arbitrarily large, or, equivalently, at length scales that become arbitrarily small .Asymptotic freedom is a feature of quantum...
, which holds that the closer quarks are to each other, the less the strong interaction
Strong interaction
In particle physics, the strong interaction is one of the four fundamental interactions of nature, the others being electromagnetism, the weak interaction and gravitation. As with the other fundamental interactions, it is a non-contact force...
(or color charge
Color charge
In particle physics, color charge is a property of quarks and gluons that is related to the particles' strong interactions in the theory of quantum chromodynamics . Color charge has analogies with the notion of electric charge of particles, but because of the mathematical complications of QCD,...
) between them; when quarks are in extreme proximity, the nuclear force between them is so weak that they behave almost as free particles. Asymptotic freedom, independently discovered by Politzer, was important for the development of quantum chromodynamics
Quantum chromodynamics
In theoretical physics, quantum chromodynamics is a theory of the strong interaction , a fundamental force describing the interactions of the quarks and gluons making up hadrons . It is the study of the SU Yang–Mills theory of color-charged fermions...
.
Gross, with Jeffrey A. Harvey
Jeffrey A. Harvey
Jeffrey A. Harvey is a Professor of Physics and string theorist at University of Chicago. Among his many contributions to the field of theoretical physics, he is one of the co-discoverers of the heterotic string....
, Emil Martinec
Emil Martinec
Emil John Martinec is an American theoretical physicist born in 1958. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1979 and obtained his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1984. He spent the last two years of his graduate education at SLAC after his dissertation advisor, Michael Peskin, left...
, and Ryan Rohm also formulated the theory of the heterotic string
Heterotic string
In physics, a heterotic string is a peculiar mixture of the bosonic string and the superstring...
. The four were to be whimsically nicknamed the Princeton String Quartet
Gross's hobby is fishing. He once caught a two and three quarters pound bluegill in Florida's Crystal Lake, narrowly missing that state's record.
Honors and awards
- Dirac Medal (1988)
- Harvey PrizeHarvey PrizeThe Harvey Prize is awarded by the Technion in Haifa, Israel. It is awarded in different disciplines of Science, Technology, Human Health, and Contributions to Peace in the Middle East. Two awards - each of $75,000 - are given away annually...
(2000) - Nobel Prize in PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
(2004)
External links
- Nobel citation
- ArXiv papers
- Webpage at the Kavli Institute
- Scientific articles of David Gross (SLAC database)
- BBC synopsis on the award
- Interviews