Douglas Osheroff

Douglas D. Osheroff shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics (with Dave Lee and Robert C. Richardson) for their discovery of superfluidity in helium-3. He earned his degree from the California Institute of Technology in 1967 and joined the Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics at Cornell University as a graduate student, doing research in low-temperature physics. Together with David Lee, the head of the lab, and Robert Richardson, Osheroff used a Pomeranchuk cell to investigate the behavior of helium at temperatures within about two thousands of a degree of absolute zero (-273.15 degrees C). They discovered unexpected effects in their measurements, which they eventually explained as phase transitions to a superfluid phase of helium-3. When a liquid becomes superfluid, its atoms suddenly lose all their randomness and move in a coordinated manner in each movement. This causes the liquid to lack all inner friction: It can overflow a cup, flow through very small holes, and exhibits a whole series of other non-classical effects. Fundamental understanding of the properties of such a liquid requires an advanced form of quantum physics, and these very cold liquids are therefore termed quantum liquids. By studying the properties of quantum liquids in detail and comparing these with predictions of quantum physics low-temperature, researchers are contributing valuable knowledge of the bases for describing matter at the microscopic level. Osheroff, Lee and Richardson were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery. Osheroff then worked at Bell Labs for 15 years, and in 1987, joined the Department of Physics at Stanford University. His research continued to be focused on phenomena that occur at extremely low temperatures. Osheroff is an avid photographer and introduces students at Stanford to photography in a freshman seminar titled ’źThe Technical Aspects of Photography.’Ź Professor Osheroff participated in the 1997 Achievement Summit in Baltimore, Maryland soon after receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics.