Physics
Professor
M. Brian Maple is a Distinguished Professor and holds the Bernd T. Matthias Endowed Chair in the Physics Department at UC San Diego. He served as Chair of the Physics Department (2004-2010 and 2019-2022), Director of the Center for Interface and Materials Science (1990-2010), and Director of the Institute for Pure and Applied Physical Sciences (1995-2009). He leads a research group in experimental condensed matter physics that focuses on emergent phenomena in strongly correlated d- and f-electron quantum materials. Another major effort involves the study of quantum matter under extreme conditions of low temperature (millikelvin range), high pressure (megabar region), and high magnetic field (100 tesla region). Subjects under investigation include high temperature and unconventional types of superconductivity, valence fluctuation and heavy fermion behavior, quantum criticality, quantum spin liquids, topological insulators, and exotic types of magnetism. Research activities in his laboratory include materials synthesis and single crystal growth, and transport, thermal, and magnetic measurements as a function of temperature, pressure, and magnetic field
Bio
Professor Maple is a first-generation college graduate who earned B.S. (physics) and A.B. (mathematics) degrees in 1963 from San Diego State University (SDSU) and M.S. (physics) and Ph.D. (physics) degrees in 1965 and 1969, respectively, from UC San Diego. All of his academic appointments have been in the Physics Department at UC San Diego, interspersed with visiting professorships and research positions at the University of Chile, the Instituto de Fisica Jose Balseiro, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, UC Santa Barbara, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. He served as Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Division of Condensed Matter Physics of the American Physical Society (APS) in 1987 and 1988, respectively, and chaired the famous “Woodstock of Physics” Session on High-Temperature Superconductivity at the APS March Meeting in New York City in 1987.
Professor Maple is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has received numerous awards, including: Excellence in Teaching Award, Revelle College, UC San Diego (1983), John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (1984), APS David Adler Lectureship Award (1996), Alexander v. Humboldt Research Award, Germany (1998), Frank H. Spedding Award (1999), APS James C. McGroddy Prize (2000), Bernd T. Matthias Prize (2000), Honorary Professorship, Trzebiatowski Institute for Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland (2006), and Science Lectureship Award, Chiba University, Tokyo, Japan (2010). Maple was ranked among the top 30 scientists for number of citations received for papers published in physical sciences between 1990 and 1996 (Science Watch, November/December 1997, published by ISI), and he was identified as one of the world’s most Highly Cited Researchers by ISI in 2000. He was named Distinguished Alumnus of the Year at UC San Diego in 1987 and at SDSU, College of Sciences, in 1988.
Maple has lectured on various topics in 13 international schools on condensed matter physics and has chaired or co-chaired 14 international conferences. He has been a member of numerous organizing, program, and advisory committees for international conferences and workshops. He edited or co-edited 14 volumes of conference proceedings or books on special research topics, and was a member of the editorial boards for 4 physics journals. He has served on numerous review and advisory committees for university physics departments, national and international research institutes and laboratories, and federal funding agencies. From 1986 to 1991, he served on the Scientific and Academic Advisory Committee to the President of the University of California for Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories.