Albert J.
Libchaber
Albert Joseph Libchaber (born 23 October 1934,
Paris) is a Detlev W. Bronk Professor at The Albert Joseph Libchaber
Rockefeller University.[1] He won the Wolf Prize in Born 23 October 1934
Physics in 1986. In 1999 he received the Prix des Trois Paris
Physiciens from the Fondation de France. Awards Wolf Foundation Prize in Physics
(1986)
Education
Albert J. Libchaber graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Paris in
1956 and an Ingénieur des Telecommunications from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des
Telecommunications in 1958. He earned a master of science degree in physics from the University of
Illinois in 1959, under the supervision of John Bardeen and his doctoral degree from the École Normale
Supérieure in 1965 under the supervision of Robert Veilex.
Academic career
Libchaber was a member of the Laboratoire de Physique des Solides of the École Normale Supérieure
until 1982 then professor at the University of Chicago from 1983 to 1991. He left Chicago and became a
professor of physics at Princeton University in 1991. In the same year, the NEC Research Institute in
Princeton named him a fellow and, in 1993, he became the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University
Professor at Princeton. He joined the faculty at The Rockefeller University in 1994.
Research
Albert Libchaber made major contributions in experimental condensed matter physics.[2][3] In particular,
he carried out the first experimental observation of the bifurcation cascade that leads to chaos and
turbulence in convective Rayleigh–Bénard systems. Using microbolometers engraved in the convective
cell he was able to observe temperature fluctuations without perturbing the environment. In this way, he
clearly observed the bifurcations that lead to chaos: period doubling, possibly accompanied by locking of
several incommensurate frequencies. The theoretical predictions of Mitchell Feigenbaum were thus
entirely confirmed. His first work was done on 4He; later he used mercury, in which an applied magnetic
field provides an additional degree of freedom. The experiment is so perfect that it can measure
quantitatively the Feigenbaum critical exponents that characterize the cascade to chaos. For this
achievement, he was awarded the Wolf Prize in Physics in 1986, along with Mitchell J. Feigenbaum, "for
his brilliant experimental demonstration of the transition to turbulence and chaos in dynamical
systems".[4]
Since the 1990s, Albert Libchaber's research has been primarily in biology, from the viewpoints of
physics and nonlinear dynamics.
References
1. "Albert J. Libchaber at Rockefeller University" ([Link]
ds-of-laboratories/1204-albert-j-libchaber/). The Rockefeller University. Retrieved 8 October
2018.
2. Mukerjee, M. (1996) Profile: Albert Libchaber – Seeing the World in a Snowflake, Scientific
American 274(3), 36-42.
3. Source: Eric Siggia (2019-04-17). "Interview with Dr. Libchaber for the American Institute of
Physics, Oral History Collection" ([Link]
y/1). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. "Wolf Prize citation" ([Link]
l/[Link]?dir=site&page=winners&cs=351). Archived from the original ([Link]
[Link]/[Link]?dir=site&page=winners&cs=351) on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
Libchaber A, Mauer J. "Une Experience de Rayleigh-Benard en geometrie reduite:
multiplication, accrochage et demultiplication des frequences" ([Link]
fr/jpa-00219828/document), Journal de Physique, Colloques 41 C3, 1980, p. 51-56
Libchaber A, Mauer J. "A Rayleigh Benard Experiment: Helium in a small box“ ([Link]
[Link]/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-4684-4127-7_15), Proceedings NATO Advanced
Summer Institute on Nonlinear Phenomena, 1982, p. 259
A Libchaber, C Laroche, S Fauve. "2-Parameter Study of the Routes to Chaos" ([Link]
[Link]/science/article/pii/0167278983901173), Physica D, V.7, 1983, p. 73-84
A Libchaber, C Laroche, S Fauve. "Period doubling cascade in mercury, a quantitative
measurement" ([Link]
rg/ff66/[Link]), Journal de Physique Lettres, V.43,
1982, p. 211-216
Libchaber Albert, Vincent Noireaux. "A vesicle bioreactor as a step toward an artificial cell
assembly ([Link] Proceedings of the National
Academy of the USA, V. 101, 2004, p. 17669
External links
"The Origin of Life - from geophysics to biology - Albert Libchaber" ([Link]
m/watch?v=0V-qHUR4y4I). YouTube. International Centre for Theoretical Sciences. January
28, 2013. (lecture, 30 December 2009, Bangalore)
"Prof. Albert Libchaber's SPARK in Science" ([Link]
an28). YouTube. March 8, 2017; Albert Libchaber interviewed by G. V. Shivashankar
"Microbes bacteria and ciliates in the soil ecosystem ▸ by Albert Libchaber" ([Link]
[Link]/watch?v=QdyCTZFAAxA). YouTube. Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics.
January 2, 2018.
Retrieved from "[Link]
