orld Scientific is proud to have organized and sponsored the 3rd Nobel Laureate Public Lecture. Nobel Laureate Professor Douglas D Osheroff of Stanford University delivered the public lecture, “The Discovery Through the Eyes of a Student: Superfluidity in Helium-3,” at the Singapore Marriott Hotel on 21 February 2000. The guest-of-honor was Professor Shih Choon Fong, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Singapore.
The co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics, Professor Osheroff is Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University. He gave an account of the seven-month period when as a graduate student, he participated in the discovery of three superfluid phases of liquid 3He. These phases are macroscopic quantum states of matter first predicted to exist by the BCS theory, which explains the origins of superconductivity in metals. They are now understood to be p-wave BCS states, and hence are complex generalizations of the order existing in most superconductors. In layman’s terms, this means that at extremely low temperatures, a rare form of helium becomes a superfluid with unusual properties.
With a keen interest in natural science, Professor Osheroff was, in his own words, “a tinkerer, always experimenting with things.” In fact , at the early age of six, he had begun tearing his toys apart to play with the electric motors. His free time was spent on a myriad of mechanical, chemical and electrical projects.
At the press conference held before the lecture, Professor Osheroff expressed his belief that one has to be a keen observer of nature and that experimentation is an essential part of our life. He believes in the need to recognize one’s strengths and weaknesses, to struggle and overcome adversities. Curiosity and creativity are essential to the understanding of nature in general, and of physics in particular.
The lecture was part of a series organized by World Scientific with the objective of exposing the Singapore audience to the world’s best scientific minds. This is in keeping with Singapore’s aspirations to attain world-class standards in science and technology. Previous invited speakers of the lecture series were Professor Steven Chu, cowinner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics and Professor Lee Yuan-Tseh, co-winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
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DOUGLAS D OSHEROFF
rofessor Douglas D Osheroff is J G Jackson and C J Wood Professor of Physics at Stanford University. He was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, with David M Lee and Robert C Richardson, in 1996 for their discovery of superfluidity in helium-3. His current work in quantum fluids, and solids and glasses at ultra-low temperatures includes studies of transport properties in nuclear magnetically ordered solid 3He and the B phase nucleation in superfluid 3He. Professor Osheroff has been awarded the Simon Memorial Prize and the Oliver Buckley Prize and named a MacArthur Fellow. He has also won the Walter J Gones Award for Excellence in Teaching at Stanford University.
