| Yakir Aharonov | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1932 Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine |
| Residence | USA |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Fields | Physicist |
| Institutions | Perimeter Institute Chapman University Tel Aviv University University of South Carolina George Mason University Brandeis University Yeshiva University |
| Alma mater | Technion – Israel Institute of Technology Bristol University |
| Doctoral advisor | David Bohm |
| Doctoral students |
Avi Marchewka David Albert |
| Known for | Aharonov–Bohm effect |
| Notable awards | National Medal of Science (2010), Wolf Prize (1998) |
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Notes
He is the uncle of Dorit Aharonov. |
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Yakir Aharonov (Hebrew: יקיר אהרונוב; born 1932 in Haifa, Israel) is an Israeli physicist specializing in quantum physics. He is a Professor of Theoretical Physics and the James J. Farley Professor of Natural Philosophy at Chapman University in California. He is also a distinguished professor in Perimeter Institute. [1] He also serves as a professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University in Israel. He is president of the IYAR, The Israeli Institute for Advanced Research.[2]
His research interests are nonlocal and topological effects in quantum mechanics, quantum field theories and interpretations of quantum mechanics. In 1959, he and David Bohm proposed the Aharonov–Bohm effect for which he co-received the 1998 Wolf Prize.
In 1988 Aharonov et al. published their theory of weak measurement, which doesn't disturb the quantum state being observed. This work was motivated by Aharonov's long time quest to experimentally verify his theory that apparently random events in quantum mechanics are caused by events in the future. Verifying a present effect of a future cause requires a measurement, which would ordinarily destroy coherence and ruin the experiment. He and his colleagues were able to make weak measurements and verify the present effect of the future cause.
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Professor Aharonov received his undergraduate education at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, graduating with a BSc in 1956. He continued his graduate studies at the Technion and then moved to Bristol University, UK together with his doctoral advisor David Bohm receiving a PhD degree in 1960.
2008–Present: Professor of Theoretical Physics and the James J. Farley Professor of Natural Philosophy at Chapman University
2006–2008: Professor at George Mason University
1973–2006: Joint professorship at the Tel Aviv University, Israel and the University of South Carolina, America
1967–1973: Joint professorship at the Tel Aviv University, Israel and the Yeshiva University, USA
1964–1967: Associate Professor, Yeshiva University, USA
1961–1964: Assistant Professor, Yeshiva University, USA
1960–1961: Research Associate, Brandeis University, USA
1981: Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society
1984: Weizmann Prize in Physics
1984: Rothschild Prize in Physics
1989: Israel Prize in exact science[3]
1990: Elected to the National Academy of Science of Israel
1991: The Elliott Cresson Medal – The Franklin Institute
1992: Honorary Doctor of Science, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
1993: Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences, USA
1993: Honorary Doctor of Science, University of South Carolina, USA
1995: Hewlett–Packard Europhysics Prize
1997: Honorary Doctor of Science, Bristol University, UK
1998: Wolf Prize in Physics[4]
1999: Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
2006: EMET Prize in Exact Science
In 2009, the information service Thomson Reuters inaccurately predicted that Aharonov would win the 2009 Nobel prize in physics, based on the influence of his work on quantum physics.[5]
2010: National Medal of Science, awarded and presented by President Barack Obama. [6]