Douglas D. Osheroff

Physicist Class of June 1981
location icon Location
Murray Hill, New Jersey
age iconAge
36 at time of award
area of focus iconArea of Focus

About Douglas' Work

Douglas Osheroff is an experimental physicist whose research efforts center around the studies of quantum fluids and solids and glasses at ultra-low temperatures.

Osheroff participated in the discovery and identification of three superfluid phases of liquid helium three (3He), and the identification and understanding of two nuclear antiferromagnetic phases of solid 3He.  He was also an early participant in studies of weak localization in two-dimensional conductors, and the first to show the importance of interactions between thermally active defects in glasses at low temperatures.  His work with glasses also includes research that will facilitate the development of new low-heat capacity/high-resolution thermometers.

Biography

Osheroff is the J. G. Jackson and C. J. Wood Professor of Physics at Stanford University and served as chair from 1993-96, and is a professor of applied physics.  He joined the Stanford faculty in 1987 after spending fifteen years in research at AT&T Bell Laboratories.  In 2003, he served as a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board and is a co-author of the report concerning the investigation.

Osheroff received a B.S. (1967) from the California Institute of Technology, and an M.S. (1969) and Ph.D. (1973) from Cornell University.

Last updated January 1, 2005.

Published on June 1, 1981

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