Nigel D. Goldenfeld Papers, 1949-2013 | University of Illinois Archives

Series 1: Research Files (1949-2006) consists of Goldenfeld’s research notes, data, and equations on various topics such as High Tc, liquid crystals, polymers, dendrites, and rubbers.  This series is arranged by Goldenfeld’s original order.

Series 2: Correspondence (1983-2006) consists of correspondence to colleagues, journal referee letters, and correspondence with award organizations. This series is arranged chronologically.

Series 3: Class Materials (1982-2012) consists predominantly of materials relating the physics qualifying exams. This includes correspondence with the exam committee, and exam questions and solutions. The series also includes class notes, seminars, and handouts. The physics qualifying exams are listed first in chronological order, and the rest of the series is in Goldenfeld’s original order.

Series 4: Administrative (1957-2013) consists of files from internal university departments such as the Institute for Genomic Biology, search committees, Goldenfeld’s non-university activities, biographical data, Goldenfeld’s salary, sabbatical, promotions, his temporary leave for Numerix and more. This series also contains Grant proposals. This series is arranged by subject, and alphabetically within.

Series 5: Notebooks (1982-1989) consists of Goldenfeld’s notebooks of seminar, meeting and conference notes.

Series 6: Publications (1982-2013) consists of Goldenfeld’s publications. This series is arranged chronologically.

Series 7: Posters contains presentation posters of Goldenfeld’s research.

Nigel Goldenfeld (1957-) became an assistant professor at the University of Illinois in 1985, an associate professor in 1991, and a full professor of physics in 1995. In 2013 he was elected as a Swanlund Endowed Chair and a Center for Advanced Study Professor of Physics. He was also a member of the Department of Physics Condensed Matter Theory group, lead the Biocomplexity Theme at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, and directed the NASA Astrobiology Institute for Universal Biology at the University of Illinois.  Some of Goldenfeld’s research interests include pattern forming systems, condensed matter physics, polymers and liquid crystals, high temperature superconductivity, and evolutionary biology.

Nigel Goldenfeld was born May 1, 1957. He received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cambridge University (1982) and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California at Santa Barbara from 1982-1985. Goldenfeld began working at the University of Illinois in 1985 and has taken sabbatical positions at Stanford University and the University of Cambridge. In 2021 he accepted a position at University of California, San Diego, where he is currently employed. Goldenfeld authored the widely used graduate textbook “Lectures on Phase Transitions and the Renormalization Group”, and is the co-founder of Numerix (1996), a company that develops analytics and software for buyside market participants.

Some of Goldenfeld’s many accolades include: Infosys-ICTS Chandrasekhar Lectures, Bangalore (2020), American Physical Society Leo P. Kadanoff Prize (2020), Primakoff Lecture, University of Pennsylvania (2020), APS Outstanding Referee (2019), Tau Beta Pi Daniel C. Crucker Eminent Faculty Award, UIUC (2017), Elected Fellow of Institute of Physics, UK (2011), Elected Member, US National Academy of Sciences (2010), Swanlund Endowed Chair (2007), Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (1995), and the Xerox Award for Research (1991).

https://physics.illinois.edu/people/directory/profile/nigel

https://guava.physics.ucsd.edu/~nigel/

https://guava.physics.uiuc.edu/~nigel/Resume.html

https://guava.physics.uiuc.edu/~nigel/Goldenfeld_extended_bio.html