Michael Fisher
Encyclopedia
Michael Ellis Fisher is an English
physicist, as well as chemist and mathematician, known for his many seminal contributions
to statistical physics
, including but not restricted to the theory of phase transition
s and critical phenomena.
, where he also earned a PhD in physics in 1957. He was appointed to the faculty as a lecturer the following year, becoming a full professor in 1965. In 1966 he moved to Cornell University
where he became professor of chemistry, physics, and mathematics, chairing the chemistry department from 1975 to 1978. In 1971, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society
. In 1973, he and Jack Kiefer
were the first two Cornell faculty elected as Horace White
Professors. Fisher was elected Secretary of the Cornell University Senate. In 1983, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences
, chemistry section. Since 1987 he has been at the Institute for Physical Science and Technology at the University of Maryland, College Park
.
Fisher currently lives in Maryland with his wife Sorrel. They have four children. Two of them are also theoretical physicists: Daniel S. Fisher currently works at Stanford
, while Matthew P.A. Fisher works at the University of California, Santa Barbara
. Fisher has seven grandchildren.
and Leo Kadanoff
won the Wolf Prize in 1980. The prize was awarded with the following comment: "Professor Michael E. Fisher has been an extraordinarily productive scientist, and one still at the height of his powers and creativity. Fisher's major contributions have been in equilibrium statistical mechanics, and have spanned the full range of that subject. He was mainly responsible for bringing together, and teaching a common language to chemists and physicists working on diverse problems of phase transitions."
. The following comments were made by Cyril Domb
:
Prize in 1995 "[f]or his numerous and seminal contributions to statistical mechanics, including but not restricted to the theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena, scaling laws, critical exponents, finite size effects, and the application of the renormalization group to many of the above problems".
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
physicist, as well as chemist and mathematician, known for his many seminal contributions
to statistical physics
Statistical physics
Statistical physics is the branch of physics that uses methods of probability theory and statistics, and particularly the mathematical tools for dealing with large populations and approximations, in solving physical problems. It can describe a wide variety of fields with an inherently stochastic...
, including but not restricted to the theory of phase transition
Phase transition
A phase transition is the transformation of a thermodynamic system from one phase or state of matter to another.A phase of a thermodynamic system and the states of matter have uniform physical properties....
s and critical phenomena.
Academic background
Michael E. Fisher received his BSc from King's College LondonKing's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, where he also earned a PhD in physics in 1957. He was appointed to the faculty as a lecturer the following year, becoming a full professor in 1965. In 1966 he moved to Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
where he became professor of chemistry, physics, and mathematics, chairing the chemistry department from 1975 to 1978. In 1971, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
. In 1973, he and Jack Kiefer
Jack Kiefer (mathematician)
Jack Carl Kiefer was an American statistician.- Biography :Jack Kiefer was born on January 25, 1924, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Carl Jack Kiefer and Marguerite K. Rosenau...
were the first two Cornell faculty elected as Horace White
Horace White
Horace White was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was the 37th Governor of New York in 1910.-Life:...
Professors. Fisher was elected Secretary of the Cornell University Senate. In 1983, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, chemistry section. Since 1987 he has been at the Institute for Physical Science and Technology at the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
.
Fisher currently lives in Maryland with his wife Sorrel. They have four children. Two of them are also theoretical physicists: Daniel S. Fisher currently works at Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, while Matthew P.A. Fisher works 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...
. Fisher has seven grandchildren.
Wolf Prize
Fisher together with Kenneth G. WilsonKenneth G. Wilson
Kenneth Geddes Wilson is an American theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize winner.As an undergraduate at Harvard, he was a Putnam Fellow. He earned his PhD from Caltech in 1961, studying under Murray Gell-Mann....
and Leo Kadanoff
Leo Kadanoff
Leo Philip Kadanoff is an American physicist. He is a professor of physics at the University of Chicago and a former President of the American Physical Society . He has contributed to the fields of statistical physics, chaos theory, and theoretical condensed matter physics.-Biography:Kadanoff...
won the Wolf Prize in 1980. The prize was awarded with the following comment: "Professor Michael E. Fisher has been an extraordinarily productive scientist, and one still at the height of his powers and creativity. Fisher's major contributions have been in equilibrium statistical mechanics, and have spanned the full range of that subject. He was mainly responsible for bringing together, and teaching a common language to chemists and physicists working on diverse problems of phase transitions."
Boltzmann Medal
When, in 1983, Fisher was awarded the Boltzmann MedalBoltzmann Medal
The Boltzmann Medal is the most important prize awarded to physicists that obtain new results concerning statistical mechanics; it is named after the celebrated physicist Ludwig Boltzmann...
. The following comments were made by Cyril Domb
Cyril Domb
Cyril Domb is a physicist best known for his lecturing and writing on the theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena of fluids. He is also known in the Orthodox Jewish world for his writings on Science and Judaism...
:
Michael Fisher first entered the field of statistical mechanics in the late 1950s. Within a few years he had established a reputation as the leading authority in the field of critical phenomenaPhase transitionA phase transition is the transformation of a thermodynamic system from one phase or state of matter to another.A phase of a thermodynamic system and the states of matter have uniform physical properties....
, a position which he has maintained ever since. During the past two decades he has been a major driving force behind the very great progress which has taken place.
It is not possible in the short time available to do justice to flood of papers with which Michael Fisher has been associated. Some of these have initiated new areas of research; for example the exact susceptibilityMagnetic susceptibilityIn electromagnetism, the magnetic susceptibility \chi_m is a dimensionless proportionality constant that indicates the degree of magnetization of a material in response to an applied magnetic field...
of the two-dimensional Ising modelIsing modelThe Ising model is a mathematical model of ferromagnetism in statistical mechanics. The model consists of discrete variables called spins that can be in one of two states . The spins are arranged in a graph , and each spin interacts with its nearest neighbors...
, correlation in the three-dimensional Ising modelIsing modelThe Ising model is a mathematical model of ferromagnetism in statistical mechanics. The model consists of discrete variables called spins that can be in one of two states . The spins are arranged in a graph , and each spin interacts with its nearest neighbors...
and critical scatteringScatteringScattering is a general physical process where some forms of radiation, such as light, sound, or moving particles, are forced to deviate from a straight trajectory by one or more localized non-uniformities in the medium through which they pass. In conventional use, this also includes deviation of...
, renormalization of critical exponentCritical exponentCritical exponents describe the behaviour of physical quantities near continuous phase transitions. It is believed, though not proven, that they are universal, i.e...
s resulting from hidden variables, finite size scaling, the dropletDrop (liquid)A drop or droplet is a small column of liquid, bounded completely or almost completely by free surfaces. A drop may form when liquid accumulates at the lower end of a tube or other surface boundary, producing a hanging drop called a pendant drop...
model, partial differentialDifferential (mathematics)In mathematics, the term differential has several meanings.-Basic notions:* In calculus, the differential represents a change in the linearization of a function....
approximants, the ANNNI modelANNNI modelIn statistical physics, the axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model, usually known as the ANNNI model, is a variant of the Ising model in which competing ferromagnetic and...
. Others, review articles, have become classics to which successive generations of graduate students and other researchers in the field have turned for guidance; for example the Boulder lectures on critical phenomena, the 1964 Journal of Mathematical Physics review of correlation in fluidFluidIn physics, a fluid is a substance that continually deforms under an applied shear stress. Fluids are a subset of the phases of matter and include liquids, gases, plasmas and, to some extent, plastic solids....
s and magnetMagnetA magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
s, the often-quoted 1967 review in Reports on Progress in Physics, and the 1973 Reviews of Modern Physics review of renormalization groupRenormalization groupIn theoretical physics, the renormalization group refers to a mathematical apparatus that allows systematic investigation of the changes of a physical system as viewed at different distance scales...
. Each and every of one of his papers contains new information of significance, and his collaborators will all verify that nothing is allowed to appear in print without Michael Fisher personally assuring himself that it measures up to his high standards. It would need quite an effort to list the research papers that have been sparked by footnotes in Michael Fisher's publications.
Of not less importance than his publications has been the personal influence which he has exercised as teacher on his many graduate students and collaborators; the invited lectures which he delivered so faultlessly and impeccably at countless national and international gatherings; the comments and criticisms which he has made during conference discussions (the atmosphere at conference is always more tense and exciting when Michael Fisher is present); and his many discussion with and directive to experimental workers in the field.
From the historical point of view the peak of his achievement to date has undoubtedly been the role which he played in the emergence of the renormalization groupRenormalization groupIn theoretical physics, the renormalization group refers to a mathematical apparatus that allows systematic investigation of the changes of a physical system as viewed at different distance scales...
. Kenneth Wilson has stated publicly that all his knowledge of critical phenomenaPhase transitionA phase transition is the transformation of a thermodynamic system from one phase or state of matter to another.A phase of a thermodynamic system and the states of matter have uniform physical properties....
was acquried from Michael Fisher. Michael's presence at Cornell was essential ingredient of his major achievement of the present era.
The Boltzmann medal for 1983 is awarded to Michael Fisher for his many illuminating contributions to phase transitions and critical phenomea during the past 25 years.
Lars Onsager Prize
Fisher won the Lars OnsagerLars Onsager
Lars Onsager was a Norwegian-born American physical chemist and theoretical physicist, winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.He held the Gibbs Professorship of Theoretical Chemistry at Yale University....
Prize in 1995 "[f]or his numerous and seminal contributions to statistical mechanics, including but not restricted to the theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena, scaling laws, critical exponents, finite size effects, and the application of the renormalization group to many of the above problems".
Award and honours
- Irving Langmuir Prize of the American Chemical SocietyAmerican Chemical SocietyThe American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
(1971) - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
(1979 - Wolf Prize (1980)
- Boltzmann MedalBoltzmann MedalThe Boltzmann Medal is the most important prize awarded to physicists that obtain new results concerning statistical mechanics; it is named after the celebrated physicist Ludwig Boltzmann...
of the International Union of Pure and Applied PhysicsInternational Union of Pure and Applied PhysicsThe International Union of Pure and Applied Physics is an international non-governmental organization devoted to the advancement of physics...
(1983) - NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing of the National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
(1983) - Lars Onsager Prize of American Physical SocietyAmerican Physical SocietyThe American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
(1995) - Royal MedalRoyal MedalThe Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal, is a silver-gilt medal awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge" and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences" made within the Commonwealth of...
in physics (2005)