Adam Frederick Falk is the President of the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Earlier in his career, Falk was the President of
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
,
a university administrator at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
, and a theoretical physicist.
Early life
Falk is a native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
He graduated from the
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) is a two-year, public residential high school located in Durham, North Carolina, that focuses on the intensive study of science, mathematics and technology. It accepts rising juniors ...
after attending Durham Academy.
He received a B.S. from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
in 1987, where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar.
He received a Ph.D in physics from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1991.
Career
Falk began his career as a post-doctoral researcher working first at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and then at the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
. In 1994, he joined the physics faculty at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
, becoming a full professor in 2000.
In 2006, Falk became the James B. Knapp Dean at the
Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences
The Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences is an academic division of the Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. The school is located on the university's Homewood campus. It is the core of Johns Hopkin ...
at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
.
From 2010 to 2017, Falk served as the 17th President of Williams College.
Since the beginning of 2018, Falk has served as President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Research
Falk is a high-energy physicist whose research focused on elementary particle physics and quantum field theory, particularly in interactions and decay of meson and baryons containing heavy quarks. He is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed papers on these and related topics.
Honors and awards
*Fellow of the American Physical Society, 2002
*Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award
*Young Investigator Award, NSF
*Sloan Research Fellowship
*Morehead-Cain Scholar, University of North Carolina
References
External links
Office of the President webpage at Williams
1965 births
Living people
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics alumni
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Williams College faculty
Presidents of Williams College
21st-century American physicists
Fellows of the American Physical Society
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