Oliver E. Buckley Prize


The Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize is an annual award given by the American Physical Society "to recognize and encourage outstanding theoretical or experimental contributions to condensed matter physics." It was endowed by AT&T Bell Laboratories as a means of recognizing outstanding scientific work. The prize is named in honor of Oliver Ellsworth Buckley, a former president of Bell Labs. Before 1982, it was known as the Oliver E. Buckley Solid State Prize. It is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of condensed matter physics.
The prize is normally awarded to one person but may be shared if multiple recipients contributed to the same accomplishments. Nominations are active for three years. The prize was endowed in 1952 and first awarded in 1953. Since 2012, the prize has been co-sponsored by HTC-VIA Group.

Recipients

YearNameInstitutionCitation
1953William ShockleyBell LabsFor contributions to the physics of semiconductors
1954John BardeenBell LabsFor contributions to the physics of semiconductor surfaces
1955LeRoy ApkerGeneral Electric Research LaboratoryFor contributions to the understanding of excitation energy in crystals
1956Clifford G. ShullMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor his work on applications of neutron diffraction to investigate the structures of solids, particularly those of magnetic solids
1957Charles KittelUniversity of California, BerkeleyFor his work on applications of magnetic resonance methods to investigations of the electronic structure of solids
1958Nicolaas BloembergenHarvard UniversityFor his studies of magnetic resonance, both nuclear and electronic and of its uses in the investigation of solids, liquids and gases
1959Conyers HerringStanford UniversityFor his interpretation of the transport properties of semiconductors
1960Benjamin LaxMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor his fundamental contributions in microwave and infrared spectroscopy of semiconductors
1961Walter KohnUniversity of California, San DiegoFor his extension and elucidation of the foundations of the electron theory of solids
1962Bertram N. BrockhouseMcMaster UniversityFor his outstanding contributions to the neutron scattering studies of plasma and spin-wave spectra in solids
1963William M. FairbankStanford UniversityFor his work on the properties of He3 and especially for his part in the experimental discovery of flux quantization in superconductors
1964Philip W. AndersonPrinceton UniversityFor his contribution concerning many-body and superexchange interactions, which have led to a new theoretical in-sights into superconductivity, liquid He3, plasmons and magnetism
1965Ivar GiaeverGeneral Electric Research LaboratoryFor being first to use electron tunneling in the study of the energy gap in super-conductors and for demonstrating the power of this technique
1966Theodore H. MaimanHughes Research LaboratoriesFor having been the first to demonstrate experimentally the generation and amplification of optical radiation in solid crystals by stimulated emissions
1967Harry G. DrickamerUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignFor experimental inventiveness, originality and physical insight leading to significant results on the effects of extreme pressures on the electronic and molecular structure of solids
1968J. Robert SchriefferUniversity of PennsylvaniaFor his contributions to many-body theory and its application to the interpretation of experiments, especially in the field of superconductivity
1969J. J. HopfieldPrinceton UniversityFor their joint work combining theory and experiment which has advanced the understanding of the interaction of light with solids
1969D. G. ThomasBell LabsFor their joint work combining theory and experiment which has advanced the understanding of the interaction of light with solids
1970Theodore H. GeballeStanford UniversityFor their joint experimental investigations of superconductivity which have challenged theoretical understanding and opened up the technology of high field superconductors
1970Bernd T. MatthiasUniversity of California, San DiegoFor their joint experimental investigations of superconductivity which have challenged theoretical understanding and opened up the technology of high field superconductors
1971Erwin HahnUniversity of California, BerkeleyFor his study of the transient response of solids under the action of electromagnetic pulses
1972James C. PhillipsBell LabsFor his synthesis of theoretical and empirical knowledge of band structures and optical properties, and for his use of this understanding to unify the physical and chemical approaches to crystalline bonding
1973Gen ShiraneBrookhaven National LaboratoryFor his broad contributions to the understanding of structural phase transitions by means of inelastic neutron scattering
1974Michael TinkhamHarvard UniversityFor his experimental investigations of the electromagnetic properties of superconductors
1975Albert W. OverhauserPurdue UniversityFor his invention of dynamic nuclear polarization and for the stimulation provided by his studies of instabilities of the metallic state
1976George FeherUniversity of California, San DiegoFor his development of electron nuclear double resonance, and the application of spin resonance to a wide range of problems in the physics of condensed matter
1977Leo P. KadanoffBrown UniversityFor his contributions to the conceptual understanding of the phase transitions and to the theory of critical phenomena
1978George D. WatkinsLehigh UniversityFor outstanding contributions to the understanding of radiation-induced defects in semiconductors by the imaginative use of experimental techniques and theoretical models
1979Marvin CohenUniversity of California, BerkeleyFor timely explanations and novel predictions of electronic properties of solids through the imaginative use of quantum mechanical calculations
1980William E. SpicerStanford UniversityFor their effective development and application of photoelectron spectroscopy as an indispensable tool for study of bulk and surface electronic structure of solids
1980Dean E. EastmanIBM ResearchFor their effective development and application of photoelectron spectroscopy as an indispensable tool for study of bulk and surface electronic structure of solids
1981David M. LeeCornell UniversityFor their discovery and pioneering research on the superfluid phases of He3
1981Robert Coleman RichardsonCornell UniversityFor their discovery and pioneering research on the superfluid phases of He3
1981Douglas D. OsheroffBell LabsFor their discovery and pioneering research on the superfluid phases of He3
1982Bertrand I. HalperinHarvard UniversityFor his contributions to the understanding of the changes in matter at phase transitions, especially phenomena occur-ring in magnets, superconductors, and two dimensional solids
1983Alan J. HeegerUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraFor his studies of conducting polymers and organic solids, and in particular for his leadership in our understanding of the properties of quasi-one-dimensional conductors
1984Daniel C. TsuiPrinceton UniversityFor the discovery of the fractional quantized Hall effect
1984Horst L. StormerBell LabsFor the discovery of the fractional quantized Hall effect
1984Arthur C. GossardBell LabsFor the discovery of the fractional quantized Hall effect
1985Robert O. PohlCornell UniversityFor his pioneering work on low energy excitations in amorphous materials and continued important contributions to the understanding of thermal transport in solids
1986Robert B. LaughlinStanford UniversityFor his contribution to our understanding of the quantum Hall effect.
1987Robert J. BirgeneauMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor his use of neutron and x-ray scattering experiments to determine the phases and phase transitions of low dimensional systems
1988Frank F. FangIBM ResearchFor a series of pioneering experiments which led to fundamental discoveries in the study of two dimensional electron transport phenomena in silicon inversion layers
1988Alan B. FowlerIBM ResearchFor a series of pioneering experiments which led to fundamental discoveries in the study of two dimensional electron transport phenomena in silicon inversion layers
1988Phillip J. StilesBrown UniversityFor a series of pioneering experiments which led to fundamental discoveries in the study of two dimensional electron transport phenomena in silicon inversion layers
1989Hellmut FritzscheUniversity of ChicagoFor his seminal transport studies of impurity band conduction near the metal-insulator transition and his leadership in our understanding of amorphous semi-conductors
1990David EdwardsLawrence Livermore National LaboratoryFor central contributions to the physics of He3–He4 mixtures of liquid and solid helium surfaces, and of spin waves in liquid He3
1991Patrick A. LeeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor his innovative contributions to the theory of electronic properties of solids, especially of strongly interacting and disordered materials
1992Richard A. WebbIBM ResearchFor his discovery of universal conductance fluctuations and the h/e Aharonov Bohm effect in small disordered metallic conductors, and his leadership role in elucidating the physics of mesoscopic system
1993F. Duncan M. HaldanePrinceton UniversityFor his contribution to the theory of low-dimensional quantum systems.
1994Aron PinczukBell Labs
1995Rolf LandauerIBM ResearchFor his invention of the scattering theory approach to the analysis and modeling of electronic transport.
1996Charles Pence SlichterUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignFor his original and creative applications of the magnetic resonance techniques to elucidate the microscopic properties of condensed matter systems including, especially, superconductors.
1997James S. LangerUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraFor contributions to the theory of the kinetics of phase transitions particularly as applied to nucleation and dendritic growth.
1998Dale J. van HarlingenUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignFor using phase-sensitive experiments in the elucidation of the orbital symmetry of the pairing function in high-Tc superconductors.
1998Donald M. GinsbergUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignFor using phase-sensitive experiments in the elucidation of the orbital symmetry of the pairing function in high-Tc superconductors.
1998John R. KirtleyIBM ResearchFor using phase-sensitive experiments in the elucidation of the orbital symmetry of the pairing function in high-Tc superconductors.
1998Chang C. TsueiIBM ResearchFor using phase-sensitive experiments in the elucidation of the orbital symmetry of the pairing function in high-Tc superconductors.
1999Sidney R. NagelUniversity of ChicagoFor his innovative studies of disordered systems ranging from structural glasses to granular materials.
2000Gerald J. DolanImmunicon CorporationFor pioneering contributions to single electron effects in mesoscopic systems.
2000Theodore A. FultonBell LabsFor pioneering contributions to single electron effects in mesoscopic systems.
2000Marc A. KastnerMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor pioneering contributions to single electron effects in mesoscopic systems.
2001Alan Harold LutherNordic Institute for Theoretical PhysicsFor fundamental contribution to the theory of interacting electrons in one dimension.
2001Victor John EmeryBrookhaven National LaboratoryFor fundamental contribution to the theory of interacting electrons in one dimension.
2002Jainendra JainPennsylvania State UniversityFor theoretical and experimental work establishing the composite fermion model for the half-filled Landau level and other quantized Hall systems.
2002Nicholas ReadYale UniversityFor theoretical and experimental work establishing the composite fermion model for the half-filled Landau level and other quantized Hall systems.
2002Robert WillettBell LabsFor theoretical and experimental work establishing the composite fermion model for the half-filled Landau level and other quantized Hall systems.
2003Boris AltshulerColumbia UniversityFor fundamental contributions to the understanding of the quantum mechanics of electrons in random potentials and confined geometries, including pioneering work on the interplay of interactions and disorder.
2004Tom C. LubenskyUniversity of PennsylvaniaFor seminal contributions to the theory of condensed matter systems including the prediction and elucidation of the properties of new, partially ordered phases of complex materials.
2004David R. NelsonHarvard UniversityFor seminal contributions to the theory of condensed matter systems including the prediction and elucidation of the properties of new, partially ordered phases of complex materials.
2005David AwschalomUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraFor fundamental contributions to experimental studies of quantum spin dynamics and spin coherence in condensed matter systems.
2005Myriam SarachikCity University of New YorkFor fundamental contributions to experimental studies of quantum spin dynamics and spin coherence in condensed matter systems.
2005Gabriel AeppliLondon Centre for NanotechnologyFor fundamental contributions to experimental studies of quantum spin dynamics and spin coherence in condensed matter systems.
2006Noel A. ClarkUniversity of Colorado, BoulderFor groundbreaking experimental and theoretical contributions to the fundamental science and applications of liquid crystals, particularly their ferroelectric and chiral properties.
2006Robert MeyerBrandeis UniversityFor groundbreaking experimental and theoretical contributions to the fundamental science and applications of liquid crystals, particularly their ferroelectric and chiral properties.
2007James P. EisensteinCalifornia Institute of TechnologyFor fundamental experimental and theoretical research on correlated many-electron states in low-dimensional systems.
2007Steven M. GirvinYale UniversityFor fundamental experimental and theoretical research on correlated many-electron states in low-dimensional systems.
2007Allan H. MacDonaldUniversity of Texas, AustinFor fundamental experimental and theoretical research on correlated many-electron states in low-dimensional systems.
2008Mildred DresselhausMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor pioneering contributions to the understanding of electronic properties of materials, especially novel forms of carbon.
2009Jagadeesh MooderaMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor pioneering work in the field of spin-dependent tunneling and for the application of these phenomena to the field of magnetoelectronics.
2009Paul TedrowMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor pioneering work in the field of spin-dependent tunneling and for the application of these phenomena to the field of magnetoelectronics.
2009Robert MeserveyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor pioneering work in the field of spin-dependent tunneling and for the application of these phenomena to the field of magnetoelectronics.
2009Terunobu MiyazakiTohoku UniversityFor pioneering work in the field of spin-dependent tunneling and for the application of these phenomena to the field of magnetoelectronics.
2010Alan L. MackayBirkbeck College, University of LondonFor pioneering contributions to the theory of quasicrystals, including the prediction of their diffraction pattern.
2010Dov LevineTechnion UniversityFor pioneering contributions to the theory of quasicrystals, including the prediction of their diffraction pattern.
2010Paul SteinhardtPrinceton UniversityFor pioneering contributions to the theory of quasicrystals, including the prediction of their diffraction pattern.
2011Juan Carlos CampuzanoArgonne National LaboratoryFor innovations in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, which advanced the understanding of the cuprate superconductors, and transformed the study of strongly-correlated electronic systems.
2011Peter JohnsonBrookhaven National LaboratoryFor innovations in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, which advanced the understanding of the cuprate superconductors, and transformed the study of strongly-correlated electronic systems.
2011Zhi-Xun ShenStanford UniversityFor innovations in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, which advanced the understanding of the cuprate superconductors, and transformed the study of strongly-correlated electronic systems.
2012Charles L. KaneUniversity of PennsylvaniaFor the theoretical prediction and experimental observation of the quantum spin Hall effect, opening the field of topological insulators.
2012Laurens W. MolenkampUniversity of WürzburgFor the theoretical prediction and experimental observation of the quantum spin Hall effect, opening the field of topological insulators.
2012Shoucheng ZhangStanford UniversityFor the theoretical prediction and experimental observation of the quantum spin Hall effect, opening the field of topological insulators.
2013John SlonczewskiIBM ResearchFor predicting spin-transfer torque and opening the field of current-induced control over magnetic nanostructures.
2013Luc BergerCarnegie Mellon UniversityFor predicting spin-transfer torque and opening the field of current-induced control over magnetic nanostructures.
2014Philip KimColumbia UniversityFor his discoveries of unconventional electronic properties of graphene.
2015Aharon KapitulnikStanford UniversityFor discovery and pioneering investigations of the superconductor-insulator transition, a paradigm for quantum phase transitions.
2015Allen GoldmanUniversity of MinnesotaFor discovery and pioneering investigations of the superconductor-insulator transition, a paradigm for quantum phase transitions.
2015Arthur F. HebardUniversity of FloridaFor discovery and pioneering investigations of the superconductor-insulator transition, a paradigm for quantum phase transitions.
2015Matthew P. A. FisherUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraFor discovery and pioneering investigations of the superconductor-insulator transition, a paradigm for quantum phase transitions.
2016Eli YablonovitchUniversity of California, BerkeleyFor seminal achievements in solar cells and strained quantum well lasers, and especially for creating the field of photonic crystals, spanning both fundamental science and practical applications of that science.
2017Alexei KitaevCalifornia Institute of TechnologyFor theories of topological order and its consequences in a broad range of physical systems.
2017Xiao-Gang WenMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor theories of topological order and its consequences in a broad range of physical systems.
2018Paul ChaikinNew York UniversityFor pioneering contributions that opened new directions in the field of soft condensed matter physics through innovative studies of colloids, polymers, and packing.
2019Alexei L. EfrosUniversity of UtahFor pioneering research in the physics of disordered materials and hopping conductivity.
2019Boris I. ShklovskiiUniversity of MinnesotaFor pioneering research in the physics of disordered materials and hopping conductivity.
2019Elihu AbrahamsUCLAFor pioneering research in the physics of disordered materials and hopping conductivity.
2020Pablo Jarillo-HerreroMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor the discovery of superconductivity in twisted bilayer graphene.
2021Moty HeiblumWeizmann Institute of ScienceFor discoveries, enabled by ingenious experimental methods, of novel quantum electronic phenomena in mesoscopic and quantum Hall systems, including observation and interpretation of one-electron and two-electron interference, charge fractionalization, and quantized heat conductance in fractional Hall states.
2022Emmanuel I. RashbaHarvard UniversityFor pioneering research on spin-orbit coupling in crystals, particularly the foundational discovery of chiral spin-orbit interactions, which continue to enable new developments in spin transport and topological materials
2022Gene DresselhausMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFor pioneering research on spin-orbit coupling in crystals, particularly the foundational discovery of chiral spin-orbit interactions, which continue to enable new developments in spin transport and topological materials
2023Ali YazdaniPrinceton UniversityFor innovative applications of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to complex quantum states of matter.
2023J. C. Séamus DavisUniversity of Oxford
University College Cork
Cornell University
For innovative applications of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to complex quantum states of matter.
2024Ashvin VishwanathHarvard UniversityFor groundbreaking theoretical and experimental studies on the collective electronic properties of materials that reflect topological aspects of their band structure.
2024Qikun XueTsinghua UniversityFor groundbreaking theoretical and experimental studies on the collective electronic properties of materials that reflect topological aspects of their band structure.
2025Steven KivelsonStanford UniversityFor broad and insightful theoretical contributions that have significantly advanced the understanding of correlated quantum systems.
2026David J. BishopBoston UniversityFor groundbreaking experiments that uncovered the role of vortices in the superfluid phase transition in helium films and observed anyonic braiding statistics of quasiparticles in the fractional quantum Hall effect, thus establishing the significance of topological excitations in two-dimensions.
2026Gwendal FèveSorbonne UniversitéFor groundbreaking experiments that uncovered the role of vortices in the superfluid phase transition in helium films and observed anyonic braiding statistics of quasiparticles in the fractional quantum Hall effect, thus establishing the significance of topological excitations in two-dimensions.
2026Michael James ManfraPurdue UniversityFor groundbreaking experiments that uncovered the role of vortices in the superfluid phase transition in helium films and observed anyonic braiding statistics of quasiparticles in the fractional quantum Hall effect, thus establishing the significance of topological excitations in two-dimensions.
2026John ReppyCornell UniversityFor groundbreaking experiments that uncovered the role of vortices in the superfluid phase transition in helium films and observed anyonic braiding statistics of quasiparticles in the fractional quantum Hall effect, thus establishing the significance of topological excitations in two-dimensions.