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Robert Mills (physicist)
 
 
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Robert L. Mills (April 15, 1927 - October 27, 1999) was a physicist
Physicist

A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many Physics#Major fields of physics spanning all length scales: from atom particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole ....
, specializing in quantum field theory
Quantum field theory

Quantum field theory or QFT provides a theoretical framework for constructing quantum mechanics models of systems classically described by field or of Many-body problem....
, the theory of alloy
Alloy

An alloy is a partial or complete solid solution of one or more chemical element in a metallic matrix. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may be homogeneous in distribution depending on thermal history....
s, and many-body theory
Many-body theory

Many-Body Theory is an area of physics which provides the framework for understanding the collective behavior of vast assemblies of interacting particles....
. While sharing an office at Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory

Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States United States Department of Energy National Labs located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S....
, in 1954, Chen Ning Yang
Chen Ning Yang

Chen-Ning Franklin Yang is a China-born United States physicist who worked on statistical mechanics and particle physics. He, together with Tsung-Dao Lee, received the 1957 Nobel prize in physics for their work on parity nonconservation of weak interaction....
 and Mills proposed a tensor
Tensor

A tensor is an object which extends the notion of Scalar , Vector , and Matrix . The term has slightly different meanings in mathematics and physics....
 equation for what are now called Yang-Mills fields. This equation reduces to Maxwell's Equations
Maxwell's equations

In electromagnetism, James Clerk Maxwell equations are a set of four partial differential equations that describe the properties of the electric field and magnetic field fields and relate them to their sources, charge density and current density....
 as a special case, see gauge theory
Gauge theory

In physics, gauge theory is a quantum field theory where the Lagrangian is invariant under certain transformations.The transformations form a Lie group which is referred to as the symmetry group or the gauge group of the theory....
: .

Mills was born in Englewood
Englewood, New Jersey

Englewood is a City located in Bergen County, New Jersey, New Jersey. As of the United States Census 2000, the city had a total population of 26,203....
, New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
, and graduated from George School. He studied at Columbia College
Columbia College of Columbia University

Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus of Morningside Heights in the Borough of Manhattan in the New York City....
 from 1944 to 1948, while on leave from the Coast Guard.






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Robert L. Mills (April 15, 1927 - October 27, 1999) was a physicist
Physicist

A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many Physics#Major fields of physics spanning all length scales: from atom particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole ....
, specializing in quantum field theory
Quantum field theory

Quantum field theory or QFT provides a theoretical framework for constructing quantum mechanics models of systems classically described by field or of Many-body problem....
, the theory of alloy
Alloy

An alloy is a partial or complete solid solution of one or more chemical element in a metallic matrix. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may be homogeneous in distribution depending on thermal history....
s, and many-body theory
Many-body theory

Many-Body Theory is an area of physics which provides the framework for understanding the collective behavior of vast assemblies of interacting particles....
. While sharing an office at Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory

Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States United States Department of Energy National Labs located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S....
, in 1954, Chen Ning Yang
Chen Ning Yang

Chen-Ning Franklin Yang is a China-born United States physicist who worked on statistical mechanics and particle physics. He, together with Tsung-Dao Lee, received the 1957 Nobel prize in physics for their work on parity nonconservation of weak interaction....
 and Mills proposed a tensor
Tensor

A tensor is an object which extends the notion of Scalar , Vector , and Matrix . The term has slightly different meanings in mathematics and physics....
 equation for what are now called Yang-Mills fields. This equation reduces to Maxwell's Equations
Maxwell's equations

In electromagnetism, James Clerk Maxwell equations are a set of four partial differential equations that describe the properties of the electric field and magnetic field fields and relate them to their sources, charge density and current density....
 as a special case, see gauge theory
Gauge theory

In physics, gauge theory is a quantum field theory where the Lagrangian is invariant under certain transformations.The transformations form a Lie group which is referred to as the symmetry group or the gauge group of the theory....
: .

Mills was born in Englewood
Englewood, New Jersey

Englewood is a City located in Bergen County, New Jersey, New Jersey. As of the United States Census 2000, the city had a total population of 26,203....
, New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
, and graduated from George School. He studied at Columbia College
Columbia College of Columbia University

Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus of Morningside Heights in the Borough of Manhattan in the New York City....
 from 1944 to 1948, while on leave from the Coast Guard. Mills demonstrated his mathematical ability by winning the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition
William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition

The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, often abbreviated to the Putnam Competition, is an annual list of mathematics competitions for undergraduate college students of the United States and Canada, awarding scholarships and cash prizes ranging from $250 to $2,500 for the top students and $5,000 to $25,000 for the top school...
 in 1948, and by receiving first-class honors in the Tripos
TRIPOS

TRIPOS is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of University of Cambridge and it was headed by Dr....
. He earned a master's degree from Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
, and a Ph.D. in Physics under Norman Kroll, from Columbia University
Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York , is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City....
 in 1955. After a year at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study

The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is a center for theoretical research. The Institute is perhaps best known as the academic home of Albert Einstein, John von Neumann, and Kurt G?del, after their immigration to the United States....
 in Princeton
Princeton Township, New Jersey

See also: the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, New Jersey and Princeton, New Jersey, New JerseyPrinceton Township is a Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States....
, New Jersey, Mills became Professor of Physics at Ohio State University
Ohio State University

The Ohio State University is a public university research university in the state of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the List of largest United States universities by enrollment in the United States....
 in 1956. He remained at Ohio State University
Ohio State University

The Ohio State University is a public university research university in the state of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the List of largest United States universities by enrollment in the United States....
 till his retirement in 1995.

Mills and Yang shared the 1980 Rumford Premium Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an organization dedicated to scholarship and the advancement of learning. It serves as a nationwide honor society for the United States....
 for their "development of a generalized gauge invariant field theory" in 1954.

Personal life

Robert Mills was married to Elise Ackley in 1948. Together they had sons Edward and Jonathan,and daughters Katherine, Susan, and Dorothy. The Mills family lived for many years in Columbus, OH during Mills' tenure as professor at Ohio State University. The family also spent considerable time during the summer and winter breaks in Echo Lake, VT. Robert opted to live out his final months at their residence in Echo Lake.