In recognition of his exceptional creativity and insights, and the impressive breadth of his research interests, which have led to momentous findings in condensed matter physics, in particular, to his formulating a quantum theory for explaining and predicting properties of materials, which formed the basis for semiconductor and superconductor physics and for nanoscience; of his distinguished leadership throughout a prolific career as a gifted and energetic researcher and mentor to generations of physicists; and of his steadfast support of and warm friendship with Israeli science and scientists and the Weizmann Institute.
One of the world’s foremost condensed-matter physicists, Prof. Marvin L. Cohen is noted for developing and applying quantum theory for predicting and explaining properties of materials. His visionary research has had a significant impact in the fields of nanotechnology and materials science.
He was born in 1935 in Montreal, Canada. In 1957, he received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and in 1964, his PhD degree from the University of Chicago. After one year of postdoctoral research at Bell Laboratories, he joined the University of California, Berkeley, where he is a University Professor of Physics, in addition to being a Senior Faculty Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
His remarkable work in condensed matter theory has produced key insights on diverse topics such as superconductivity in highly doped semiconductors, high-pressure phases of silicon, and the electronic and vibrational states of a wide range of important solids, including, most recently, fullerenes and carbon nano-tubes. The pseudopotential model he developed in his early career enables scientists to explain the structure and properties of known materials, and to predict those of never-beforeseen materials. It allows scientists to calculate what would happen under extreme conditions not found on Earth, and also to make predictions about nanoscale structures relevant to current nano-science and nanotechnology.
Cohen's research is highly influential, with papers that are among the most cited in the world of physics. He is renowned for his close collaborations with both theoreticians and experimentalists across the globe.
His numerous recognitions include the 1979 American Physical Society (APS) Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize, the 1994 APS Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize, the 2001 National Medal of Science, the 2003 Foresight Institute Richard P. Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology, the 2007 Technology Pioneer Award from the World Economic Forum, and the 2014 Von Hippel Prize of the Materials Research Society. He is a fellow and past-president of the APS, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences (since 1980), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.