Matthew P. A. Fisher is an American

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experime ...

and Professor of Physics at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

, and is known for several major contributions to condensed matter physics. He completed his bachelor's degree in engineering physics from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1981 and earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

in 1986 with

Anthony Leggett Sir Anthony James Leggett (born 26 March 1938) is a British-American theoretical physicist and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Leggett is widely recognised as a world leader in the theory of low-temperatur ...

as his advisor, with part of his work done under the supervision of

Eduardo Fradkin Eduardo Hector Fradkin (born February 21, 1950) is an Argentinian-American theoretical physicist known for working in various areas of condensed matter physics, primarily using quantum field theoretical approaches. He is a Donald Biggar Willett Pr ...

. He was awarded the

Alan T. Waterman Award The Alan T. Waterman Award, named after Alan Tower Waterman, is the United States's highest honorary award for scientists no older than 40, or no more than 10 years past receipt of their Ph.D. It is awarded on a yearly basis by the National Scien ...

in 1995, and in 2015 he was a recipient of the

Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize The Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize is an annual award given by the American Physical Society "to recognize and encourage outstanding theoretical or experimental contributions to condensed matter physics." It was endowed by AT&T Bell Lab ...

for his work on the superconductor-insulator transition. He was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 2003 and to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.APS Fellows – F
/ref> He is the son of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

physicist Michael E. Fisher, and brother of American physicist Daniel S. Fisher.

Research

Fisher is one of the leading figures in condensed matter physics, and has made important contributions to many areas in condensed matter physics. Some of his most important works have been in the theories of

quantum phase transition In physics, a quantum phase transition (QPT) is a phase transition between different quantum phases ( phases of matter at zero temperature). Contrary to classical phase transitions, quantum phase transitions can only be accessed by varying a phys ...

s, in particular superconductor-insulator transitions (with Daniel Fisher, Steven Girvin and others) and deconfined quantum criticality (with Subir Sachdev, T. Senthil, Ashvin Vishwanath and Leon Balents). He has also made important contributions to superconductivity, in particular, introducing vortex-glass superconductivity as a possible new phase of matter and using bosonic particle-vortex dualities to describe the properties of superconductors (with Dung-Hai Lee). He has also made significant advances in the transport and other aspects of the physics of Luttinger liquids (with Charles Kane) and other one-dimensional problems in condensed matter such as the edges of quantum Hall states. He has also done important works in the area of quantum spin liquids, often using the aforementioned dualities to provide theoretical descriptions of various spin liquid phenomena (with Leon Balents, Michael Hermele, Jason Alicea, Shinsei Ryu and others). He has also made important contributions to the physics of carbon nanotubes (with Leon Balents and Charles Kane) and emergent Majorana fermions and related phenomena in quasi-one-dimensional problems (with Jason Alicea and others). In recent years, Fisher has developed new interests in

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...

, where in particular he has proposed the possibility (and mechanisms) of

quantum information processing Quantum information science is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the analysis, processing, and transmission of information using quantum mechanics principles. It combines the study of Information science with quantum effects in p ...

(specifically,

quantum mind The quantum mind or quantum consciousness is a group of hypotheses proposing that classical mechanics alone cannot explain consciousness, positing instead that quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as entanglement and superposition, may play an imp ...

) in the human brain.

External links

Homepage

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Matthew P. A. 1960 births Living people Cornell University alumni Grainger College of Engineering alumni Fellows of the American Physical Society Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 21st-century American physicists University of California, Santa Barbara faculty Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize winners