American theoretical physicist
Hugh David Politzer (/ˈ p ɑː l ɪ t s ər theoretical physicist . He shared the 2004Nobel Prize in Physics withDavid Gross andFrank Wilczek "for the discovery ofasymptotic freedom in the theory of thestrong interaction ".[ 1]
He is the Richard Chace Tolman Professor of Theoretical Physics at theCalifornia Institute of Technology .[ 2] [ 3]
Politzer was born inNew York City . His parents escaped to England fromCzechoslovakia in 1939 and immigrated to the U.S. afterWorld War II . He graduated from theBronx High School of Science in 1966, received hisbachelor's degree in physics from theUniversity of Michigan in 1969, and hisPhD in 1974 fromHarvard University , where his graduate advisor wasSidney Coleman .
In his first published article, which appeared in 1973, Politzer described the phenomenon of asymptotic freedom: the closerquarks are to each other, the weaker thestrong interaction will be between them.[ 4] Princeton University —was extremely important in the development ofquantum chromodynamics . WithThomas Appelquist , Politzer also played a central role in predicting the existence of "charmonium ", a subatomic particle formed of acharm quark and acharm antiquark .
Politzer was a junior fellow at theHarvard Society of Fellows from 1974 to 1977 before moving to theCalifornia Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he is currently professor of theoretical physics. In 1986, he was awarded theJ. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics by theAmerican Physical Society .[ 5] Fat Man and Little Boy Manhattan Project physicistRobert Serber .[ 6] High Energy Particle Physics Prize of theEuropean Physical Society , jointly withDavid J. Gross andFrank Wilczek .[ 7] David J. Gross , H. David Politzer andFrank Wilczek "for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction."
Politzer is one of the 20 American recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics to sign a letter addressed to PresidentGeorge W. Bush in May 2008, urging him to "reverse the damage done to basic science research in the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill" by requesting additional emergency funding for theDepartment of Energy ’sOffice of Science , theNational Science Foundation , and theNational Institute of Standards and Technology .[ 8]
Politzer was elected as a member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011.[ 9]
Politzer plays thebanjo and has done research on the physics of the instrument.[ 10] [ 11]
Politzer was the lead vocalist in the 1980s for Professor Politzer and the Rho Mesons, which put out their single, "The Simple Harmonic Oscillator".[ 12] [ 13]
Politzer'sErdős-Bacon number is 5 – via appearing inFat Man and Little Boy [ 14] Laura Dern (inNovocaine Kevin Bacon ) and publishing once withSidney Coleman (Erdős number 2 ).
^ "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2004" .Nobel Foundation .Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. RetrievedOctober 9, 2008 .^ "Hugh D. (David) Politzer | Caltech Directory" .directory.caltech.edu . RetrievedMay 11, 2020 .^ "Britannica" . April 26, 2024.^ H.D. Politzer (1973)."Reliable perturbative results for strong interactions?" .Physical Review Letters 30 (26):1346– 1349.Bibcode :1973PhRvL..30.1346P .doi :10.1103/PhysRevLett.30.1346 ^ "American Institute of Physics" .^ "David Politzer Wins Nobel Prize in Physics | Caltech" .The California Institute of Technology . October 5, 2004. RetrievedDecember 3, 2017 .^ High Energy Particle Physics Division of EPS."High Energy Particle Physics Prize" .eps-hepp.web.cern.ch . RetrievedFebruary 6, 2026 . ^ "A Letter from America's Physics Nobel Laureates" (PDF) .^ "Hugh David Politzer" .American Academy of Arts & Sciences . RetrievedMay 11, 2020 .^ Banjo Physics 411 AND Resonator Guitar Physics 412https://www.its.caltech.edu/~politzer/ ^ Burton, Howard (2021).Conversations About Physics, Volume 1 . Toronto: Ideas Roadshow. ^ "The Simple Harmonic Oscillator" .caltech.edu .^ "David Politzer" .^ "Fat Man and Little Boy" .imdb .
1901–1925 1926–1950 1951–1975 1976–2000 2001–
International National Academics
