Yakir Aharonov, professor of theoretical physics at Schmid College of Science and Technology and holder of the James J. Farley Professorship in Natural Philosophy, has been elected as a member of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences.
The elected fellows, recognized for their invaluable contributions to science, are leaders in their fields and come from all parts of the world. They are elected for life through a peer review process based on excellence in science.
Aharonov, co-director of Chapman’s Institute for Quantum Studies (IQS), is renowned for his contributions to the co-discovery of the Aharonov-Bohm Effect, a quantum-mechanical phenomenon in which an electrically charged particle is affected by an electromagnetic potential. His accolades include the Wolf Foundation Prize in Physics and the National Medal of Science.
Before joining Chapman University in 2008, Professor Aharonov served on the faculties of Brandeis University, Yeshiva University, Tel Aviv University, the University of South Carolina and George Mason University. He received his undergraduate education at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1956. He continued his graduate studies at the Technion and then moved to Bristol University in England, where he received his Ph.D. in 1960.
Professor Aharonov’s distinguished career, marked by his time at prestigious institutions and discoveries, highlights his impact on modern science. This latest recognition further strengthens his position as an influence in the scientific community.
