John Joannopoulos

John Joannopoulos
Joannopoulos in 2010
Born(1947-04-26)April 26, 1947
New York City, U.S.
DiedAugust 17, 2025(2025-08-17) (aged 78)
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
WorkplacesMIT
ThesisElectronic structure of complex crystalline and amorphous semiconductors (1974)
Marvin L. Cohen
Doctoral students

John D. Joannopoulos (April 26, 1947 – August 17, 2025) was an American physicist, focused in condensed matter theory. He was the Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), an Elected Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAA&S), and an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and American Physical Society (APS).

Life and career

Joannopoulos was born on April 26, 1947, in New York City to Greek parents.[13] He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. Most recently, in 2015, the Optical Society of America (OSA) awarded him the Max Born Award and the APS awarded him the Aneesur Rahman Prize for Computational Physics, both significant awards.[14][15][16][17][18]

Joannopoulos was appointed director of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies in 2006,[19] and was a Principal Investigator at the Research Laboratory of Electronics.[20]

Joannopoulos had been on the MIT faculty since 1974. He held his BA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, the latter received in 1974. His doctoral studies, advised by Marvin L. Cohen, focused on electronic structure of complex crystalline and amorphous semiconductors.[13]

Joannopoulos had helped set the theoretical foundations of key computational techniques for realistic and microscopic studies of complex materials systems, including the electronic, vibrational, and optical structure of crystalline and amorphous solids, their surfaces, interfaces, and defects; localization in disordered systems; and the first ab-initio studies of phase transitions and critical phenomena. In the early nineties, he also helped spawn the development of a new class of materials (photonic crystals) that provide new mechanisms to control the flow of light and have revolutionized the fields of optical and lightwave physics.[21]

His former students include Nobel Laureate Robert B. Laughlin, along with professors Yaneer Bar-Yam, Shanhui Fan, Steven G. Johnson, Eugene J. Mele, Michelle Povinelli, Karin M. Rabe, David Vanderbilt,[22] and many other faculty at major universities.[21]

Joannopoulos died on August 17, 2025, at the age of 78.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mele, Eugene. "New theoretical methods for the study of the electronic structure of solids". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  2. ↑ Laughlin, Robert. "The structure and excitations of amorphous solids and surfaces". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  3. ↑ Vanderbilt, David. "A theoretical study of defects in amorphous semiconductors". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  4. ↑ Douglas, Alfred Douglas. "Localization and low temperature transport in disordered one-dimensional systems". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  5. ↑ Bar-Yam, Yaneer. "Microscopic theory of the dynamics of defects in semiconductors". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  6. ↑ Kaxiras, Efthimios. "Ab Initio theory of polar surfaces of binary compound semiconductors". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  7. ↑ Rabe, Karin. "Ab initio statistical mechanics of structural phase transitions". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  8. ↑ Rappe, Andrew. "Ab initio theoretical studies of transition-metal, molecular, and photonic band-gap materials". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  9. ↑ Fan, Shanhui. "Photonic crystals : theory and device applications". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Steven. "Photonic crystals: From theory to practice". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  11. ↑ Povinelli, Michelle. "Characteristics of defect modes, slow light, and disorder in photonic crystals". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  12. ↑ Chan, Maria. "Atomistic and ab initio prediction and optimization of thermoelectric and photovoltaic properties". MIT Libraries. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  13. 1 2 Array of Contemporary American Physicists listing
  14. ↑ "John Joannopoulos". aaas.org. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  15. ↑ "John Joannopoulos". mit.edu. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  16. ↑ "John Joannopoulous". mit.edu. Archived from the original on May 31, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Lab". mit.edu. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  18. ↑ American Physical Society article on Joannopoulos getting prize
  19. ↑ "Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies bio of Joannopoulos". Archived from the original on May 31, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  20. ↑ "John D. Joannopoulos » MIT Physics". MIT Physics. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  21. 1 2 3 Chu, Jennifer (August 19, 2025). "Professor John Joannopoulos, photonics pioneer and Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies director, dies at 78". MIT News. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Members of the Ab-Initio Physics Research Group". Retrieved May 2, 2024.
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