Georg Bednorz
Johannes Georg Bednorz | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 16, 1950 Neuenkirchen, Germany |
| Occupation | Physicist |
| Known for | Discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in ceramic materials |
| Notable work | High-temperature superconductivity research |
Johannes Georg Bednorz (born 16 May 1950) is a German physicist recognized for his collaborative discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in ceramic materials alongside K. Alex Müller, a breakthrough that led to their receipt of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Life and work
Bednorz was born in Neuenkirchen, Germany, as the youngest among four siblings. His family, originally from Silesia, moved westward during the Second World War. From an early age, he demonstrated a keen interest in applied mechanics and the natural sciences, which initially guided him to study chemistry at the University of Münster in 1968. Subsequently, he transitioned towards crystallography, an interdisciplinary field connecting chemistry with physics.
In 1972, Bednorz spent a pivotal summer at the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, where he encountered his future research partner K. Alex Müller and was exposed to an innovative scientific environment that shaped his research methodology. After earning his master's degree in 1977, he undertook doctoral studies at the ETH Zurich under the mentorship of Heini Gränicher and Müller, concentrating on ceramic perovskite crystals such as SrTiO3.
Following his PhD completion in 1982, Bednorz returned to IBM's laboratory to collaborate with Müller on superconductivity research. Beginning in 1983, they methodically investigated the electrical characteristics of transition metal oxide ceramics. Their efforts culminated in 1986 with the discovery of superconductivity at 35 K in lanthanum barium copper oxide (LaBaCuO), a critical temperature exceeding previous records by 12 K. This achievement ignited widespread exploration into high-temperature superconductors including BSCCO and YBCO.
Their groundbreaking findings were honored with the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics for unveiling superconductivity within ceramic substances. In the same year, Bednorz was also appointed an IBM Fellow.
Awards and honors
- Thirteenth Fritz London Memorial Award (1987)
- Dannie Heineman Prize awarded by the Göttingen Academy (1987)
- Robert Wichard Pohl Prize (1987)
- Hewlett-Packard Europhysics Prize (1988)
- Marcel Benoist Prize (1986)
- Nobel Prize for Physics (1987)
- James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials (1988)
- Minnie Rosen Award (1988)
- Viktor Moritz Goldschmidt Prize
- Otto Klung Prize (1987)
- Elected foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences (2018)
- Honorary membership of the Swiss Physical Society since 2011
References
External links
- Pioneers in Electricity and Magnetism – Johannes Georg Bednorz, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
- including the Nobel Lecture, December 8, 1987 Perovskite-Type Oxides – The New Approach to High-Tc Superconductivity