Alan M. Portis
Encyclopedia
Alan M. Portis was an American a solid-state
physicist
.
. He also founded the Berkeley Physics Laboratory. For the development of laboratory courses and curricula at UC Berkeley, he received the Milikan Medal from the American Association of Physics Teachers
. Portis was the doctoral advisor of the 2000 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry
Alan J. Heeger
.
Alan Portis was a Guggenhein Fellow
in 1965.
Portis was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
in February 1976. He was also a Fellow of the American Physical Society
.
Alan was also the first Director of the Lawrence Hall of Science which overlooks the Lawrence Berkeley Lab and the first cyclotron ever built where EO Lawrence and Glen Seaborg did their work. Alan was also one of the founders of the Search for Excellence in Science and Mathematics (SESAME) Group at UC Berkeley. He was both a scientist and a science educator.
Solid-state physics
Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how the large-scale properties of solid materials result from...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
.
Career
He was the dean of engineering at Berkeley as well as an engineering professor. He was an early researcher in electron paramagnetic resonanceElectron paramagnetic resonance
Electron paramagnetic resonance or electron spin resonance spectroscopyis a technique for studying chemical species that have one or more unpaired electrons, such as organic and inorganic free radicals or inorganic complexes possessing a transition metal ion...
. He also founded the Berkeley Physics Laboratory. For the development of laboratory courses and curricula at UC Berkeley, he received the Milikan Medal from the American Association of Physics Teachers
American Association of Physics Teachers
The American Association of Physics Teachers was founded in 1930 for the purpose of "dissemination of knowledge of physics, particularly by way of teaching." There are more than 10,000 members that reside in over 30 countries. AAPT publications include two peer-reviewed journals, the American...
. Portis was the doctoral advisor of the 2000 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
Alan J. Heeger
Alan J. Heeger
Alan Jay Heeger is an American physicist, academic and Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry.Heeger was born in Sioux City, Iowa to a Jewish family. He earned a B.S. in physics and mathematics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1957, and a Ph.D in physics from the University of California,...
.
Alan Portis was a Guggenhein Fellow
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1965.
Portis was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
in February 1976. He was also a Fellow of the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
.
Alan was also the first Director of the Lawrence Hall of Science which overlooks the Lawrence Berkeley Lab and the first cyclotron ever built where EO Lawrence and Glen Seaborg did their work. Alan was also one of the founders of the Search for Excellence in Science and Mathematics (SESAME) Group at UC Berkeley. He was both a scientist and a science educator.