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Paul Joseph Steinhardt (born December 25, 1952) is an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He is currently the Albert Einstein Professor of Science and Co-Founding Director of the Center for Theoretical Science at Princeton University.
Steinhardt graduated from Caltech in 1974, where his mentor was Richard P. Feynman. He earned his masters and doctorate in physics from Harvard University in 1978.

Academic work

Steinhardt is best known for his work in theoretical cosmology, where he helped develop the theory of cosmic inflation, which attempts to explain the homogeneity and geometry of the universe and the origin of the fluctuations that seeded the formation of galaxies and large-scale structure. He introduced the concept of quintessence, a time-varying form of dark energy to explain the current accelerating expansion of the universe. His recent work has been on brane cosmology, especially the ekpyrotic and cyclic models. The cyclic theory of the universe is a radical alternative to big bang/inflationary cosmology in which the evolution of the universe is periodic and the key events shaping the large scale structure of the universe occur before the big bang.

Steinhardt also works in condensed matter physics, where he coined the name quasicrystal, a novel phase of matter which has symmetries forbidden to ordinary periodic crystals. He has made numerous contributions to understanding their mathematical and physical properties. Recently, he has helped develop a photonic quasicrystal (the quasicrystal analogue of a photonic crystal) for efficiently trapping and manipulating light in selected wavebands.

Honors and awards

Steinhardt was elected as a Fellow in the American Physical Society in 1986 in recognition of his important contributions to cosmology and to the theoretical understanding of quasicrystals. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1998, which is considered one of the highest honors a scientist can receive because it is a widely accepted mark of excellence and a recognition of distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. In 2002, he was honored for his pivotal role as one of the original architects of the inflationary model of the universe when he shared the prestigious P.A.M. Dirac Medal from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics with Alan Guth of MIT and Andrei Linde of Stanford. In 2010, Steinhardt received the Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize of the American Physical Society for his pioneering contributions to the theory of quasicrystals, including the prediction of their diffraction pattern. In 2012, he received the John Scott Award for his work on quasicrystals, including the co-discovery of the first natural quasicrystal called icosahedrite during a successful geological expedition to Chukotka in Far Eastern Russia. In 2012, Steinhardt was named Simons Fellow in Theoretical Physics; Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard Fellow; and was also invited to pursue his research at Caltech as a Moore Distinguished Scholar. In 2014, he received the Caltech Distinguished Alumni Award, which is the highest honor the Institute bestows upon its alumni. In 2014, the International Mineralogical Association accepted a new mineral from theKhatyrka meteorite into the official catalogue of natural minerals, and named it "Steinhardtite" in his honor.

Publications

• Steinhardt, P. J.; Turok, N. (2002-04-25). "A Cyclic Model of the Universe". Science. 296 (5572): 1436–1439. arXiv:hep-th/0111030v2. Bibcode:2002Sci...296.1436S. doi:10.1126/science.1070462. PMID 11976408.
• P. J. Steinhardt and N. Turok, Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang, (Doubleday, 2007)
• J. Khoury, B. A. Ovrut, P. J. Steinhardt and N. Turok, "The ekpyrotic universe: Colliding branes and the origin of the hot big bang", Phys. Rev. D 64, 123522 (2001) arXiv:hep-th/0103239.
• D. N. Spergel and P. J. Steinhardt, "Observational evidence for self-interacting cold dark matter", Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 3760 (2000) arXiv:astro-ph/9909386.
• N. A. Bahcall, J. P. Ostriker and P. J. Steinhardt, "The Cosmic Triangle: Revealing the State of the Universe", Science 284, 1481 (1999) arXiv:astro-ph/9906463.
• R. R. Caldwell, R. Dave and P. J. Steinhardt, "Cosmological Imprint of an Energy Component with General Equation-of-State", Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 1582 (1998) arXiv:astro-ph/9708069.
• P. J. Steinhardt and S. Ostlund, The Physics of Quasicrystals (World Scientific, Singapore, 1987).
• Bardeen, J. M.; Steinhardt, P. J.; Turner, M. S. (1983). "Spontaneous Creation Of Almost Scale-Free Density Perturbations In An Inflationary Universe". Phys. Rev. D. 28: 679. Bibcode:1983PhRvD..28..679B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.28.679.
• Albrecht, A.; Steinhardt, P. J. (1982). "Cosmology For Grand Unified Theories With Radiatively Induced Symmetry Breaking". Phys. Rev. Lett. 48: 1220. Bibcode:1982PhRvL..48.1220A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.48.1220.

Patents

9 Issued:

1. Quasicrystalline Photonic Heterostructures and Uses Thereof, US Patent No. 8064127
2. Quasicrystalline Structures and Uses Thereof, US Patent No. 8243362 B1
3. Quasicrystalline Structures and Uses Thereof, US Patent No. 8508838 B2
4. Quasicrystalline Structures and Uses Thereof, US Patent No.TBA B3
5. Assembly of Quasicrystalline Photonic Heterostructures, US Patent No. 7981774
6. Assembly of Quasicrystalline Photonic Heterostructures, US Patent No. 8394708
7. Interference Using Quasiperiodic Patterns, US Patent No. 5379118
8. More Methods and Apparatus for Eliminating Moire' Interference Using Quasiperiodic Patterns, US Patent No. 5179448
9. Methods and Apparatus for Eliminating Moire' Interference Using Quasiperiodic Patterns, US Patent No. 4984726

3 Pending:

1. Narrow-band frequency splitters, photonic sensors, and cavities having pre-selected cavity modes
2. Non-crystalline Materials having complete photonic, electronic, or phononic band gaps
3. Disordered Multi-hyperuniform pixel array for image sensors

See also

• Girih tiles

References

1. Array of Contemporary American Physicists, American Institute of Physics
2. Member Election Citation, National Academy of Sciences
3. Brian Greene, Walter Isaacson, and Paul Steinhardt (2007) Einstein: An EDGE Symposium
4. 2010 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize recipient biography
5. http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=S&year=&unit_id=&institution=Princeton+University
6. http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/3005837.html
7. http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/johnscottaward/js2011-2020.html
8. https://www.simonsfoundation.org/funding/funding-opportunities/ mathematics-physical-sciences/simons-fellow-program/simons-fellows-awardees-theoretical-physics/2012-simons-fellows-awardees-theoretical-physics/
9. https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/people/paul-steinhardt
10. http://www.alumni.caltech.edu/distinguished-alumni-awards-2014/
11. http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140613/ncomms5040/abs/ncomms5040.html
12. http://wwwphy.princeton.edu/~steinh/STEINHARDTITE%20LETTER.pdf
13. http://wwwphy.princeton.edu/~steinh/patents.html
14. http://wwwphy.princeton.edu/~steinh/patents.html

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• Cosmologists
• Harvard University alumni
• University of Pennsylvania faculty
• 1952 births
• Living people
• Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
• American physicists
• Guggenheim Fellows