John Robert Schrieffer was a world-renowned theoretical physicist whose groundbreaking work revolutionized our understanding of superconductivity. Born on May 31, 1931, in Oak Park, Illinois, he earned his bachelor's degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953 before pursuing graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received his PhD in 1957. He began his academic career at the University of Chicago from 1957 to 1959 followed by positions at the University of Illinois and the University of Pennsylvania, where he became the Mary Amanda Wood Professor of Physics in 1964. Later in his career, he served as a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1980 to 1992 and concluded his distinguished career as University Professor at Florida State University and Chief Scientist of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory from 1992 until his retirement in 2006.
Schrieffer's most significant contribution came during his graduate studies when he collaborated with John Bardeen and Leon Cooper to develop the BCS theory of superconductivity, published in 1957. This seminal work provided the first successful microscopic explanation for how certain materials conduct electricity without resistance at extremely low temperatures, describing how electrons form correlated pairs now known as Cooper pairs. The theory elegantly accounted for more than thirty years of experimental results that had baffled physicists, solving one of the most challenging problems in condensed matter physics. For this paradigm-shifting achievement, Schrieffer and his collaborators were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1972, cementing their theory as one of the towering achievements in theoretical physics of the twentieth century.
Beyond his Nobel-winning work, Schrieffer made substantial contributions to the understanding of high-temperature superconductivity and strongly correlated electron systems throughout his career. He served as Director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara from 1984 to 1989, demonstrating significant leadership in the physics community. His textbook 'Theory of Superconductivity,' published in 1964, became a standard reference for generations of physicists studying quantum phenomena in solids. Schrieffer's legacy endures as the BCS theory continues to inform research across multiple disciplines, including astrophysics and high energy physics, with his insights remaining foundational to the ongoing quest to understand and harness superconducting materials for practical applications.
