Anthony Zee
Encyclopedia
Anthony Zee (Zee is a dialect pronunciation of 徐) (born in Kunming
in China
) is a Chinese American
physicist
, writer
, and currently a professor at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
and the physics department of the University of California, Santa Barbara
.
Zee obtained his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1970, supervised by Sidney Coleman
. During 1970-72 and 1977–78, he was at the Institute for Advanced Study
. From 1973 to 1978, he was an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. In his first year as assistant professor at Princeton
, Zee had Ed Witten as his teaching assistant and grader.
Professor Zee has authored or co-authored more than 200 scientific publications and several books. He has written on particle physics
, condensed matter physics
, anomalies in physics
, random matrix theory, superconductivity
, the quantum Hall effect, and other topics in theoretical physics
and evolutionary biology, as well as their various interrelations. His scientific publications have been cited more than 10,000 times, and his h-index
is 54 as of 2006.
Zee is an accomplished teacher, covering both general relativity
and quantum field theory
. The culmination of his teaching is his text Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell. He is also the author of several books for general readers about physics and Chinese culture.
General readers:
Kunming
' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
) is a Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
physicist
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and currently a professor at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics is a research institute of the University of California, Santa Barbara. KITP is one of the most renowned institutes for theoretical physics in the world. KITP programs bring theorists in physics and related fields together to work together on topics at...
and the physics department of the University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
.
Zee obtained his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1970, supervised by Sidney Coleman
Sidney Coleman
Sidney Richard Coleman was an American theoretical physicist who studied under Murray Gell-Mann.- Life and work :Sidney Coleman grew up on the Far North Side of Chicago...
. During 1970-72 and 1977–78, he was at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
. From 1973 to 1978, he was an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. In his first year as assistant professor at Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Zee had Ed Witten as his teaching assistant and grader.
Professor Zee has authored or co-authored more than 200 scientific publications and several books. He has written on particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
, condensed matter physics
Condensed matter physics
Condensed matter physics deals with the physical properties of condensed phases of matter. These properties appear when a number of atoms at the supramolecular and macromolecular scale interact strongly and adhere to each other or are otherwise highly concentrated in a system. The most familiar...
, anomalies in physics
Anomaly (physics)
In quantum physics an anomaly or quantum anomaly is the failure of a symmetry of a theory's classical action to be a symmetry of any regularization of the full quantum theory. In classical physics an anomaly is the failure of a symmetry to be restored in the limit in which the symmetry-breaking...
, random matrix theory, superconductivity
Superconductivity
Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...
, the quantum Hall effect, and other topics in theoretical physics
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
and evolutionary biology, as well as their various interrelations. His scientific publications have been cited more than 10,000 times, and his h-index
H-index
The h-index is an index that attempts to measure both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar. The index is based on the set of the scientist's most cited papers and the number of citations that they have received in other publications...
is 54 as of 2006.
Zee is an accomplished teacher, covering both general relativity
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
and quantum field theory
Quantum field theory
Quantum field theory provides a theoretical framework for constructing quantum mechanical models of systems classically parametrized by an infinite number of dynamical degrees of freedom, that is, fields and many-body systems. It is the natural and quantitative language of particle physics and...
. The culmination of his teaching is his text Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell. He is also the author of several books for general readers about physics and Chinese culture.
Books
Technical:- 1982. Unity of Forces in the Universe. Singapore: World Scientific.
- 2003. Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell. 1st & 2nd ed. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691010199
General readers:
- An Old Man's Toy, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0026334402
- 2002. Swallowing Clouds. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0671747244
- 2007. Fearful Symmetry: The Search for Beauty in Modern Physics, 2nd ed. Princeton University Press. Foreword by Roger PenroseRoger PenroseSir Roger Penrose OM FRS is an English mathematical physicist and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College...
. ISBN 978-0691009469. 1986 1st ed. published by Macmillan.