David Gross

David Jonathan Gross (Template:IPAc-en; born February 19, 1941) is an American theoretical physicist and string theorist. Along with Frank Wilczek and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> for their discovery of asymptotic freedom. Gross is the Chancellor's Chair Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was formerly the KITP director and holder of their Frederick W. Gluck Chair in Theoretical Physics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is also a faculty member in the UCSB Physics Department<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is affiliated with the Institute for Quantum Studies<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> at Chapman University in California. He is a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life and education

Gross was born in Washington, D.C., in February 1941 to a Jewish family from Austro-Hungary.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His grandfather was born in Hungary. His parents were Nora (Faine) and Bertram Myron Gross (1912–1997). Gross studied in high school at the Hebrew University Secondary School in Jerusalem. He received his bachelor's and Master's degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in 1962. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966, under the supervision of Geoffrey Chew.

Research and career

In 1973, Gross, working with his first graduate student, Frank Wilczek, at Princeton University, discovered asymptotic freedom—the primary feature of non-Abelian gauge theories—which led Gross and Wilczek to the formulation of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of the strong nuclear force. Asymptotic freedom is a phenomenon where the nuclear force weakens at short distances, which explains why experiments at very high energy can be understood as if nuclear particles are made of non-interacting quarks. Therefore, the closer quarks are to each other, the less the strong interaction (or color charge) is between them; when quarks are in extreme proximity, the nuclear force between them is so weak that they behave almost as free particles. The flip side of asymptotic freedom is that the force between quarks grows stronger as one tries to separate them. This is the reason why the nucleus of an atom can never be broken into its quark constituents.

QCD completed the Standard Model, which details the three basic forces of particle physics—the electromagnetic force, the weak force, and the strong force. Gross was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics, with Politzer and Wilczek, for this discovery.<ref name=":0" />

Gross, with Jeffrey A. Harvey, Emil Martinec, and Ryan Rohm also formulated the theory of the heterotic string. The four were whimsically nicknamed the "Princeton String Quartet."<ref>String Theory, at 20, Explains It All (or Not). NY Times (2004-12-07)</ref> He continues to do research in this field at the KITP.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He was a junior fellow at Harvard University (1966–69)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics at Princeton University until 1997, when he began serving as Princeton's Thomas Jones Professor of Mathematical Physics Emeritus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has received many honors, including a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1987 and the Dirac Medal in 1988.

Activism

In 2003, Gross was one of 22 Nobel Laureates who signed the Humanist Manifesto.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Gross is one of the 20 American recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics to sign a letter addressed to President George 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 the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2015, Gross signed the Mainau Declaration 2015 on Climate Change on the final day of the 65th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. The declaration was signed by a total of 76 Nobel Laureates and handed to then-President of the French Republic, François Hollande, as part of the successful COP21 climate summit in Paris.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Family

Gross' first wife was Shulamith (Toaff), and they had two children. He also has a stepdaughter by his second wife, Jacquelyn Savani.<ref>nobelprize.org</ref> He has three brothers, including Larry Gross, professor of communication, Samuel R. Gross, professor of law, and Theodore (Teddy) Gross, a playwright.

Honors and awards

• J. J. Sakurai Prize, American Physical Society (1986)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Fellowship Prize, MacArthur Foundation (1987)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Dirac Medal, International Center for Theoretical Physics (1988)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Oscar Klein Medal, Royal Swedish Academy (2000)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Harvey Prize, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (2000)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• High Energy and Particle Physics Prize, European Physical Society (2003)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Grande Médaille d'Or, French Academy of Sciences (2004)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Nobel Prize in Physics (2004)<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Golden Plate Award, Academy of Achievement (2005)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• San Carlos Borromeo Award, University of San Carlos, Philippines (2008)
• Honorary Doctorate in Science, the University of Cambodia (2010)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Richard E. Prange Prize, University of Maryland (2013)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Medal of Honor, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia (2016)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Memberships in academies and societies

• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, National Science Foundation (1963–66)
• Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (1970–74)<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• Fellow, American Physical Society (elected 1974)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected 1985)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Member, National Academy of Sciences (elected 1986)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (elected 1987)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Honorary Fellow, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (2005)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Member, American Philosophical Society (elected 2007)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Honorary Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, India (elected 2007)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences for the developing world (elected 2007)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Member, International Academy of Philosophy of Science (elected 2009)<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
• Foreign Member, Chinese Academy of Sciences (elected 2011)<ref name=":1" />
• Foreign Member, Russian Academy of Sciences (elected 2016)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Elected to a four-year term in the presidential line, the American Physical Society (2016–2020)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Selected publications

Template:Refbegin Journal articles

• Template:Cite journal
• D. J. Gross and F. Wilczek, "Asymptotically Free Gauge Theories. I", Phys. Rev. D8 3633 (1973)

Technical reports

• Wilczek, F. and D. J. Gross. "Asymptotically Free Gauge Theories. I," National Accelerator Laboratory, Princeton University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (July 1973).
• Gross, D. J. and S. B. Treiman. "Hadronic Form Factors in Asymptotically Free Field Theories," Princeton University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (1974).
• Callan, C. G. Jr., Dashen, R. and D. J. Gross. "Instantons and Massless Fermions in Two Dimensions," Princeton University, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Energy Research and Development Administration), (May 1977).
• Gross, D. J. "Some New/Old Approaches to QCD," Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, United States Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, (November 1992).

See also

• List of Jewish Nobel laureates

External links

• David Gross, on Google Scholar
• David J. Gross, Nobel Prize in Physics 2004 - includes Nobel Lecture, December 8, 2004, "The Discovery of Asymptotic Freedom and the Emergence of QCD"
• Nobel honours sub-atomic world, BBC, October 5, 2004
• ArXiv papers
• David J. Gross bio, American Institute of Physics
• Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP), University of California, Santa Barbara