Kenneth G. Wilson

Kenneth Geddes Wilson (born June 8, 1936) is an American physicist.

Related Topics:
June 8 - 1936 - American - Physicist

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As an undergraduate at Harvard, he was a Putnam Fellow. He earned his PhD from Caltech in 1961, studying under Murray Gell-Mann.

Related Topics:
Harvard - Putnam Fellow - PhD - Caltech - 1961 - Murray Gell-Mann

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He joined Cornell University in 1963 in the Department of Physics as a junior faculty member, becoming a full professor in 1970. In 1974, he becames the James A. Weeks Professor of Physics at Cornell. He was a co-winner of the Wolf Prize in physics in 1980. He was awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing a theory of second-order phase transitions in matter that accounts for effects on neighboring molecules.

Related Topics:
Cornell University - 1963 - 1970 - 1974 - James A. Weeks - Wolf Prize - 1980 - 1982 - Nobel Prize in Physics - Phase transition - Molecule

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In 1985, he was appointed as Cornell's Director of the Center for Theory and Simulation in Science and Engineering (known now as the Cornell Theory Center, one of five national supercomputer center created by the National Science Foundation.

Related Topics:
1985 - Cornell Theory Center - National Science Foundation

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An even more important insight was Wilson's answer to the question: "What is quantum field theory?" Kenneth Wilson developed the philosophy and techniques of renormalization group.

Related Topics:
Quantum field theory - Renormalization group

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Since 1988, Dr. Wilson has been a faculty member at The Ohio State University.

Related Topics:
1988 - The Ohio State University

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