Curtis Gove Callan Jr. (born October 11, 1942) is an American theoretical

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. He has conducted research in

gauge theory In physics, a gauge theory is a type of field theory in which the Lagrangian, and hence the dynamics of the system itself, does not change under local transformations according to certain smooth families of operations (Lie groups). Formally, t ...

, string theory, instantons,

black hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

strong interaction In nuclear physics and particle physics, the strong interaction, also called the strong force or strong nuclear force, is one of the four known fundamental interaction, fundamental interactions. It confines Quark, quarks into proton, protons, n ...

s, and many other topics. He was awarded the Sakurai Prize in 2000 ("For his classic formulation of the

renormalization group In theoretical physics, the renormalization group (RG) is a formal apparatus that allows systematic investigation of the changes of a physical system as viewed at different scales. In particle physics, it reflects the changes in the underlying p ...

, his contributions to instanton physics and to the theory of monopoles and strings") and the Dirac Medal in 2004.

Biography

Callan received his B.S. in physics from

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

. He then pursued graduate studies in physics at Princeton University, where he was a student under Sam Treiman. He received his Ph.D. in physics in 1964 after completing a doctoral dissertation titled "Spherically symmetric cosmological models." His Ph.D. students include Vijay Balasubramanian, William E. Caswell, Peter Woit, Igor Klebanov and Juan Maldacena. Callan is best known for his work on broken scale invariance ( Callan–Symanzik equation) and has also made leading contributions to

quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines Field theory (physics), field theory and the principle of relativity with ideas behind quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct phy ...

and string theory in the areas of dyon-

fermion In particle physics, a fermion is a subatomic particle that follows Fermi–Dirac statistics. Fermions have a half-integer spin (spin 1/2, spin , Spin (physics)#Higher spins, spin , etc.) and obey the Pauli exclusion principle. These particles i ...

dynamics, string

soliton In mathematics and physics, a soliton is a nonlinear, self-reinforcing, localized wave packet that is , in that it preserves its shape while propagating freely, at constant velocity, and recovers it even after collisions with other such local ...

s and black holes. Callan has been a member of the JASON defense advisory group since 1968, and was chair of the group from 1990 to 1995. He served as president of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

(APS) in 2010. He was elected a Fellow of the APS in 1971. Callan was elected as a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) 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, and other ...

in 1987 and as a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 1989.

References

External links

Research page
at Princeton. * * Callan'
publications on INSPIRE-HEP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callan, Curtis American string theorists 1942 births Living people Fellows of the American Physical Society J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics recipients Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of JASON (advisory group) Princeton University alumni Haverford College alumni Trustees of the Institute for Advanced Study 21st-century American physicists 20th-century American physicists Presidents of the American Physical Society