Professor Marvin Cohen
University of California

I would like to describe a few observations about Einstein and his research in condensed matter physics. He had difficulty getting his thesis subject approved despite many attempts despite excellent proposals that I will discuss. As is well known, he contributed in many fields, but I will focus on only a few in condensed matter and quantum physics. In particular, I’ll discuss the background and then some recent work in nanoscience and superconductivity. In the latter field, Einstein suggested that we might never have a theoretical explanation, but Einstein was not always right.

Marvin L. Cohen is University Professor of Physics at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Faculty Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Cohen’s current and past research covers a broad spectrum of subjects in theoretical condensed matter physics. He is a recipient of the National Medal of Science, the APS Oliver E. Buckley Prize for Solid State Physics, the APS Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize, the Foresight Institute Richard P. Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology, and the Technology Pioneer Award from the World Economic Forum along with other honors and a Doctorat Honoris Causa, University of Montreal. Cohen has contributed more than 770 technical publications. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2005, Cohen was President of the American Physical Society, an organization representing more than 47,000 physicists in universities, industry and national laboratories