Leon Cooper

American physicist (1930–2024)

Leon N Cooper[1] (February 28, 1930 – October 23, 2024) was an American physicist. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics with John Bardeen and John Robert Schrieffer in 1972. He helped developed the BCS theory of superconductivity.[2][3]

Leon N Cooper
Cooper in 2007
Born(1930-02-28)February 28, 1930
DiedOctober 23, 2024(2024-10-23) (aged 94)
Alma materColumbia University (B.A. 1951, M.A. 1953, Ph.D. 1954)
Known forSuperconductivity
Cooper pairs
AwardsNobel Prize in Physics (1972)
Comstock Prize in Physics (1968)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
InstitutionsBrown University
Doctoral advisorRobert Serber

He was also the namesake of the Cooper pair and co-developer of the BCM theory of synaptic plasticity.[4]

Cooper died at his home in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 23, 2024, at the age of 94.[5]

References

change
  1. Many printed materials, including the Nobel Prize website, have referred to Cooper as "Leon Neil Cooper". However, the middle initial N does not stand for Neil, or for any other name. The correct form of the name is, thus, "Leon N Cooper", with no abbreviation dots
  2. "Superconductivity". CERN official website. CERN.
  3. Weinberg, Steven (February 2008). "From BSC to the LHC". CERN Courier. 48 (1): 17–21.
  4. Bienenstock, Elie (1982). "Theory for the development of neuron selectivity: orientation specificity and binocular interaction in visual cortex". The Journal of Neuroscience. 2 (1): 32–48. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.02-01-00032.1982. PMC 6564292. PMID 7054394.
  5. McClain, Dylan Loeb (October 25, 2024). "Leon Cooper Dies at 94; Nobelist Unlocked Secrets of Superconductivity". The New York Times. Retrieved October 25, 2024.