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Helmut Fritzsche

Honorary Degree Recipient

  • Doctor of Science, Purdue University 1988

Professor Fritzsche received his Ph.D. in Physics from Purdue in 1954. He became an Instructor of Physics in 1954 and an Assistant Professor in 1955 at Purdue. He went to the University of Chicago in 1957 where he has had a distinguished research career in solid state physics.

Professor Fritzsche's research has been characterized by innovative experimental techniques, careful materials preparation and characterization, critical analysis of careful and systematic studies, and the development of important theoretical models of the basic physics responsible for the experimental results. He is perhaps best known for his pioneering research on the metal-insulator transition in doped crystalline semiconductors and on amorphous materials. His many studies have resulted in a solid scientific foundation for these fields. In addition to the fundamental scientific results of this research, his discoveries have led to important aprlications. His research on the role of hydrogen in amorphous silicon was the critical step in the development of devices using this material.

In addition to his international reputation as a scientist, Professor Fritzsche is widely known and respected as an educator. Many of his former thesis students are important scientists. As Chairman of the Department of Physics of the University of Chicago, he supported and encouraged important programs to improve the quality of teaching of introductory physics.

by Robert Lee Mieher, Head, Department of Physics, and Albert W. Overhauser, Stuart Professor of Physics, October 29, 1987

Last Updated: Apr 29, 2016 3:52 PM

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