Kenneth G. Wilson facts for kids

Kenneth Geddes Wilson (June 8, 1936 – June 15, 2013) was an American theoretical physicist. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

He was known for his important work on how materials change from one state to another. This is called phase transitions. He also developed a powerful idea called the renormalization group. This idea helps scientists understand how things behave at different scales, from tiny particles to large systems.

Early Life and Education

Kenneth Wilson was born on June 8, 1936, in Waltham, Massachusetts. His father, E. Bright Wilson, was also a famous chemist. His brother, David, became a professor at Cornell University.

As a college student at Harvard, Kenneth was a very talented mathematician. He won a special award called the Putnam Fellow. He later earned his PhD (a high-level science degree) from Caltech in 1961. His teacher there was the well-known physicist Murray Gell-Mann.

Career and Discoveries

In 1963, Kenneth Wilson joined the Physics Department at Cornell University. He became a full professor in 1970. By 1974, he was named the James A. Weeks Professor of Physics at Cornell.

He shared the Wolf Prize in physics in 1980. He won this award with Michael E. Fisher and Leo Kadanoff.

Nobel Prize Work

In 1982, Kenneth Wilson received the Nobel Prize in Physics. He won it for his work on critical phenomena and phase transitions. Imagine water boiling or ice melting. These are examples of phase transitions. Wilson's work helped explain how these changes happen at a very deep level.

He developed a new way to understand these changes using something called the renormalization group. This idea helped physicists solve big problems in areas like quantum field theory. It also helped explain the Kondo effect, which is a puzzle in solid-state physics.

Supercomputers for Science

Kenneth Wilson believed that the government should buy powerful computers for science. These computers, called supercomputers, could help scientists with their research.

In 1985, he became the Director of the Center for Theory and Simulation in Science and Engineering at Cornell. This center is now known as the Cornell Theory Center. It was one of five national supercomputer centers started by the National Science Foundation.

Later, in 1988, Dr. Wilson became a professor at The Ohio State University. He also became interested in how physics is taught to students.

Students and Legacy

Many students learned from Kenneth Wilson. Some of his PhD students became famous physicists themselves. These include Roman Jackiw, Steve Shenker, and Michael Peskin.

Kenneth Wilson passed away on June 19, 2013, in Saco, Maine. He was 77 years old.

Awards and Honors

• Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics, 1973
• Boltzmann Medal, 1975
• Wolf Prize, 1980
• Harvard University, D.Sc (Hon.), 1981
• Caltech, Distinguished Alumni Award, 1981
• Franklin Medal, 1982
• Nobel Prize for Physics, 1982
• A.C. Eringen Medal, 1984
• Aneesur Rahman Prize, 1993

See also

In Spanish: Kenneth Geddes Wilson para niños