Ivar Giæver

Ivar Giæver. He is a Norwegian-American physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 for his experimental discoveries regarding tunneling phenomena in semiconductors and superconductors. He shared the prize with Leo Esaki and Brian David Josephson, whose theoretical and experimental work on Josephson tunneling was also honored. Giæver's pioneering work provided crucial experimental verification of the BCS theory of superconductivity and opened new avenues in the study of condensed matter physics.

Early life and education

Ivar Giæver was born in Bergen, Norway, and grew up in the city of Tønsberg. He initially pursued a degree in mechanical engineering at the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim, graduating in 1952. After serving in the Royal Norwegian Air Force, he worked as a patent examiner for the Norwegian government. In 1954, he emigrated to Canada with his family, briefly working for the Canadian General Electric company in Peterborough, Ontario. Seeking further education, he moved to the United States and enrolled at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, where he earned a Ph.D. in physics in 1964.

Career and research

Following his graduate studies, Giæver joined the General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New York, under the direction of physicist John Fisher. His groundbreaking research there involved applying the recently developed techniques of thin-film fabrication to study quantum mechanical electron tunneling. In a seminal 1960 experiment, he demonstrated that electrons could tunnel through a thin insulating layer between a superconductor and a normal metal, a process forbidden by classical physics. This work, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, directly probed the energy gap predicted by the BCS theory, providing some of the first strong experimental evidence for the theory developed by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and Robert Schrieffer.

Nobel Prize in Physics

In 1973, Giæver was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Leo Esaki and Brian David Josephson. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized Giæver "for his experimental discoveries regarding tunneling phenomena in semiconductors and superconductors." His experiments were distinguished for their elegant simplicity and directness, offering a powerful new tool for investigating the properties of superconductors. The prize highlighted how tunneling experiments, like those conducted by Giæver and Esaki, had become indispensable in solid-state physics and for the development of new electronic devices.

Later work and recognition

After receiving the Nobel Prize, Giæver continued his research at General Electric, shifting his focus to applications of physics in biology and medicine. He conducted significant work on the behavior of proteins at interfaces, particularly antibodies, using similar physical techniques. In 1988, he became an institute professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and later a professor-at-large at the University of Oslo. He is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and a fellow of the American Physical Society. In later years, he became known for his skeptical views on the scientific consensus on climate change, often expressing these views at conferences like those of the American Physical Society.

Personal life

Giæver married Inger Skramstad in 1952, and the couple had four children. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1964. An avid skier, he maintained strong connections to Norway throughout his life. He has been involved with various scientific and educational institutions, including serving on the board of the Museum of American History. His life and career bridge the fields of engineering, fundamental physics, and applied science, reflecting a pragmatic and experimental approach to scientific discovery.

Category:Norwegian physicists Category:American physicists Category:Nobel laureates in Physics Category:1929 births Category:Living people