Manuel Cardona facts for kids

Manuel Cardona Castro (born 7 September 1934 – died 2 July 2014) was a very important physicist. He studied how materials behave, especially at a tiny level. He was one of the most referenced scientists in his field. This means many other scientists used his work in their own research.

Cardona was an expert in solid state physics. This is the study of how solid materials work. He was very interested in how light interacts with materials. He studied semiconductors, which are materials used in electronics. He also researched superconductors, which can carry electricity without losing energy.

Manuel Cardona's Life and Work

Early Life and Education

Manuel Cardona was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1934. He loved physics from a young age. He earned his first degree in physics from the University of Barcelona in 1955.

In 1956, he moved to the United States. He received a special scholarship to study at Harvard University. At Harvard, he started researching semiconductors. These are materials like germanium and silicon, which are used in computer chips. His work on these materials earned him a PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard.

A Career in Research

After Harvard, Cardona continued his research. From 1959 to 1961, he worked at RCA Laboratories in Switzerland. He kept studying the optical properties of semiconductors. Optical properties are how materials react to light.

In 1961, he moved to the RCA Labs in Princeton, NJ. There, he also began to study superconductors. These are materials that can conduct electricity with zero resistance.

In 1964, Cardona became a professor at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He also taught for a short time in Argentina.

Leading a Research Institute

In 1971, Manuel Cardona moved to Stuttgart, Germany. He became a founding director of the new Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. This is a very famous research center. He worked there until he retired in 2000. He helped guide many important discoveries in physics.

For many years, from 1992 to 2004, Cardona was also the main editor for a science magazine called Solid State Communications.

Awards and Honors

Manuel Cardona received many important awards during his career. He earned over 60 awards and eleven honorary doctorates. An honorary doctorate is a special degree given to someone for their great achievements.

Some of his notable honors include:

• 1964: Fellow of the American Physical Society
• 1984: Frank Isakson Prize from the American Physical Society
• 1987: Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA
• 1988: Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research (a very high honor in Spain)
• 2001: Nevill Mott Medal and Prize

Personal Life

Manuel Cardona lived in Stuttgart, Germany, from 1971 until he passed away in 2014. He was married to Inge Cardona. They had three children and seven grandchildren. He held citizenship in America, Germany, and Spain.

See also

• In Spanish: Manuel Cardona Castro para niños