Gilbert George Lonzarich facts for kids

Gilbert "Gil" George Lonzarich, born in 1945, is a brilliant scientist. He is a solid-state physicist and a professor at the University of Cambridge. He is well-known for his important work on special materials. These materials can become "superconductors" or "magnets." He did much of this research at the famous Cavendish Laboratory.

Gil Lonzarich's Life and Education

Gil Lonzarich studied at several universities. He earned his first degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1967. He then continued his studies, getting a master's degree from the University of Minnesota in 1970. In 1973, he completed his Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia.

After his studies, Professor Lonzarich began working at the University of Cambridge. He has held various positions there over the years. Since 1997, he has been a full professor at the Cavendish Laboratory. At the Cavendish Laboratory, he leads a special team called the "quantum matter group." This group studies how tiny particles behave in different materials.

Discoveries in Materials Science

Professor Lonzarich's research looks at solid materials. He studies how tiny particles called electrons interact with each other inside these materials. Sometimes, these interactions can create unusual or "unconventional" states of matter.

Exploring Different Materials

His work has covered many types of materials. These include "itinerant magnets," which are materials like MnSi that can become magnetic. He also studied "heavy-fermion materials" and "ferroelectrics." These are all special kinds of solids with unique properties.

Superconductivity Breakthroughs

One of his most important discoveries was about unconventional superconductivity. Superconductivity is when a material can carry electricity with no energy loss. Professor Lonzarich showed that if you stop a certain type of magnetic order in "heavy-fermion materials," it can cause them to become superconductors. This point, where the magnetic order disappears, is called a "quantum-critical point." This discovery was a big step forward in understanding how some materials become superconductors.

How His Team Studies Materials

Professor Lonzarich's team uses special methods for their experiments. They grow their own crystals of the materials they want to study. They also work at extremely cold temperatures, almost as cold as space! They can also put materials under very high pressure. His team also studies "quantum oscillations," which helps them understand how electrons move in materials. This work continues the research started by another famous scientist, David Shoenberg.

Inspiring Future Scientists

Many talented students have worked with Professor Lonzarich. Some of his notable former students include Piers Coleman, Louis Taillefer, Andrew MacKenzie, and Christian Pfleiderer. They have all gone on to do important work in science themselves.

Awards and Recognition

Professor Lonzarich has received many important awards for his scientific contributions:

• Fellow of the Royal Society (1989)
• EPS Europhysics Prize (1989)
• Max Born Prize (1991)
• Guthrie Medal (2007)
• Rumford Medal (2010)
• Kamerlingh Onnes Prize (2015)