Michael Christopher Payne is a British

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 experimen ...

, working in the field of

computational physics Computational physics is the study and implementation of numerical analysis to solve problems in physics for which a quantitative theory already exists. Historically, computational physics was the first application of modern computers in science, ...

and theoretical

condensed matter physics Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the sub ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He is the creator of first principles total energy pseudopotential code

CASTEP CASTEP is a shared-source academic and commercial software package which uses density functional theory with a plane wave basis set to calculate the electronic properties of crystalline solids, surfaces, molecules, liquids and amorphous materials ...

and has been involved in the development of the linear scaling code

ONETEP ONETEP (Order-N Electronic Total Energy Package) is a linear-scaling density functional theory software package able to run on parallel computers. It uses a basis of non-orthogonal generalized Wannier functions (NGWFs) expressed in terms of periodi ...

. He was the 23rd most highly cited Physical Scientist in the UK between 1990 and 1999, and has published more than 250 papers which have had over 22,000 citations. He was awarded the 1996

Maxwell Medal and Prize The Institute of Physics awards numerous prizes to acknowledge contributions to physics research, education and applications. It also offers smaller specific subject-group prizes, such as for PhD thesis submissions. Bilateral awards * The Max B ...

by the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physica ...

and gave the 1998 Mott Lecture. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2008 and awarded the

Swan Medal and Prize The Katharine Burr Blodgett Medal and Prize is a gold medal awarded annually by the Institute of Physics to "recognise contributions to the organisation or application of physics in an industrial or commercial context." The medal is accompanied b ...

by the

in 2014. In 2011 he was made an honorary fellow of the

.Mike Payne, Honorary Fellow (IoP)
retrieved 12 Feb 2017 He was head of Theory of Condensed Matter (TCM) group in the

Cavendish Laboratory The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the School of Physical Sciences. The laboratory was opened in 1874 on the New Museums Site as a laboratory for experimental physics and is named ...

at the

until 2013, succeeded by

Benjamin Simons Benjamin David Simons is a British theoretical physicist, working in the field of theoretical condensed matter physics and in biophysics. Simons holds the Herchel Smith Chair in Physics at the University of Cambridge Cavendish Laboratory, and h ...

References

External links

Mike Payne, TCM

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Mike British theoretical physicists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge Maxwell Medal and Prize recipients Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Computational physicists