William Graham Hoover is a preeminent theoretical physicist renowned for his foundational contributions to computational statistical mechanics and molecular dynamics simulation techniques. He currently serves as the principal researcher at Ruby Valley Research Institute, which he established following his retirement as Professor Emeritus of Applied Science at the University of California, Davis in 1993. After completing his undergraduate education at Oberlin College in 1958, Hoover developed a distinguished academic career that transitioned into independent research upon his move to Ruby Valley, Nevada in 2005. His intellectual journey has spanned more than six decades, marked by a consistent focus on developing rigorous mathematical frameworks for understanding complex physical systems.
Dr. Hoover's most significant contribution is the development of the Hoover thermostat and related time-reversible methods that revolutionized molecular dynamics simulations by enabling accurate modeling of canonical ensembles. His theoretical framework for ergodic time-reversible chaos provided critical solutions to longstanding challenges in simulating Gibbs' canonical oscillator and maintaining proper temperature control in computational systems. These methodological innovations have become standard tools across computational physics, chemistry, and materials science, facilitating accurate simulations of thermodynamic properties that were previously unattainable. His work has generated more than thirty years of sustained research activity in thermostatted molecular dynamics, as evidenced by his continued scholarly output well into the twenty-first century.
Beyond his technical innovations, Hoover has profoundly influenced the field through his extensive publication record and authorship of seminal books including Time Reversibility, Computer Simulation, and Chaos and Smooth Particle Applied Mechanics. He has mentored numerous researchers through book prizes and collaborative projects, including the 2015 award to Puneet Patra for work on time-reversible ergodic maps. Despite his emeritus status, Hoover maintains vigorous scholarly engagement, with recent publications exploring nonequilibrium maps and hard sphere dynamics that continue to advance fundamental understanding in statistical mechanics. His intellectual legacy endures through the widespread adoption of his methods and the ongoing research directions he established, cementing his position as a cornerstone figure in computational theoretical physics.
