Localization of quantum particles or classical waves by interference effects in disordered media has been predicted by Anderson more than 50 years ago. The signatures of this phenomenon in electronic systems like weak localization and interaction induced localization will be discussed. The scaling regime of the metal-insulator transition has recently been studied on ferromagnetic disordered films with unprecedented accuracy. Interactions are found to be very important at the transition. Anderson localization in a noninteracting system has been demonstrated recently for acoustic waves. The self-consistent theory of localization has played an important role in interpreting those data. In ultracold atom systems first steps for demonstrating Anderson localization and the observation of the Anderson transition in the kicked rotor system will be discussed.

Peter Wolfle received a PhD in 1969 from TU Munich, Germany. He held positions as a professor of physics at TU Munich (1975-86), University of Florida, USA (1986-89) and University of Karlsruhe (1989-present). He has contributed to many fields of condensed matter theory (Anderson localization in disordered media, superfluid Helium 3, unconventional superconductors, strongly correlated electrons, quantum transport theory in and out of equilibrium). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and of the American Physical Society.