F. Duncan M. Haldane, of Princeton, was awarded the prize for his theoretical discoveries in the topological phases of matter
Princeton University professor F. Duncan M. Haldane is one of three men awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
F. Duncan Haldane (courtesy Princeton University) Haldane, who has been on the Princeton faculty since 1990, and his fellow winners were awarded the prestigious prize "for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter," said the judges.
"They have used advanced mathematical methods to study unusual phases, or states, of matter, such as superconductors, superfluids or thin magnetic films," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in announcing the award.
According to his Princeton bio, he spent three years as a member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, from 1985 to 1988. He was born in London in 1951.
Haldane received the call at 4:30 a.m. notifying him that he won the award, according to a statement released by Princeton University.
Speaking by a phone link to a news conference in Stockholm, Haldane said he was "very surprised and very gratified" by the award, adding the laureates stumbled onto the discoveries.
"Most of the big discoveries are really that way," he said. "At least in theoretical things, you never set out to discover something new. You stumble on it and you have the luck to recognize what you've found is something very interesting."
Technically, Haldane won one-quarter of the 2016 Physics Prize: half of the prize was given to David J. Thouless, of the University of Washington, Seattle, while Haldane splits the remaining half with J. Michael Kosterlitz, of Brown University, in Providence, R.I. Kosterlitz was a visiting professor at Princeton in 1978.
The men will share a prize of 8 million Swedish krona, or roughly $931,000.
"The background whiteboard is explaining my 1988 work on the quantum Hall effect ..." Duncan Haldane's wife took photo today! #NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/CsVtvTrdbh
-- The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 4, 2016
The Nobel Committee provided this explanation of their work: "The three Laureates' use of topological concepts in physics was decisive for their discoveries. Topology is a branch of mathematics that describes properties that only change step-wise. Using topology as a tool, they were able to astound the experts."
Their discoveries have generated research that may ultimately be applied to electronics and superconductors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.