Gregory Wannier

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gregory Hugh Wannier (also Gregor Wannier ; * 1911 in Basel ; † October 21, 1983 in Portland , Oregon ) was a Swiss solid-state physicist .

Wannier studied at the University of Leuven (1930/31), the University of Cambridge (1933/34) and the University of Basel , where he received his doctorate in 1935. He was an assistant at the University of Geneva in 1935/36 and went to Princeton University as an exchange student in 1936/37 . 1937/38 he was an instructor at the University of Pittsburgh , 1938/39 Assistant Lecturer at the University of Bristol , 1939-1941 instructor at the University of Texas and 1941-1946 at the University of Iowa . In 1945 he was involved in the Alsos mission in Germany. He went into industry in 1946, first to Socony-Vacuum Laboratories and from 1949 to Bell Laboratories . He was there in the Physical Electronics group with colleagues such as William B. Shockley , Conyers Herring , John Bardeen , Charles Kittel , Philip Warren Anderson , where he taught the latter in solid state physics. It was not until 1961 that he returned to the university as a professor at the University of Oregon . In 1977 he retired.

Wannier is known for his achievements in solid state physics, including ferromagnetism ( Ising model , Kramers-Wannier duality) and crystal lattice physics. Wannier functions are named after him. He also dealt with photoconduction and movement of ions in gases. Wannier is also known from two textbooks.

He was a fellow of the American Physical Society .

Fonts

  • Elements of solid state theory , Cambridge University Press 1959
  • Statistical Physics , Wiley 1966, Dover 1987, 2010

Web links

  • Wannier, Gregory H. In: The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography. 1995(English).;
  • Contributors to this issue . In: Bell Systems Technical Journal . tape 32 , no. 1 , 1953, p. 261–264 (English, ieee.org [PDF] short biography of Gregory H. Wannier).
  • Gregory Wannier, interviewed by Kris Syzmborski. In: Oral Histories. AIP, June 18, 1982(English).;

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Philip W. Anderson, interviewed by Alexei Kojevnikov Anderson. In: Oral Histories. AIP, March 30, 1999, accessed February 16, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Hendrik Anthony Kramers , Wannier Statistics of the two-dimensional ferromagnet , Physical Review, Volume 60, 1941, pp. 252-262.
  3. ↑ G. Wannier: The structure of electronic excitation levels in insulating crystals . In: Physical Review . tape 52 , 1937, pp. 191 , doi : 10.1103 / PhysRev.52.191 . , G. Wannier: Dynamics of Band Electrons in Electric and Magnetic Fields . In: Reviews of Modern Physics . tape 34 , 1962, pp. 645 , doi : 10.1103 / RevModPhys.34.645 .
personal data
SURNAME Wannier, Gregory
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wannier, Gregory Hugh; Wannier, Gregor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss physicist
DATE OF BIRTH 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel
DATE OF DEATH October 21, 1983
Place of death Portland, Oregon