Daniel Friedan

Daniel Harry Friedan (born October 3, 1948)[1] is an American theoretical physicist and one of three children of the feminist author and activist Betty Friedan.[2] He is a professor at Rutgers University.

Daniel Friedan
Born
Daniel Harry Friedan

(1948-10-03) October 3, 1948
New York City, US
OccupationTheoretical physicist at Rutgers University
Known forString theory, two-dimensional conformal field theory, quantum gravity
SpouseRagnheiður Guðmundsdóttir
Children3
Parent
AwardsLars Onsager Prize (2010)

Biography

Education and career

Friedan earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980 and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1987.[3][4]

In 1979, he showed that the equations of motions of string theory, which are generalizations of the Einstein equations of general relativity, emerge from the renormalization group equations for the two-dimensional field theory.[5]

Friedan has worked in string theory and condensed matter theory, specializing in (1 + 1)-dimensional systems. His current research focuses on applications to quantum computers.

Friedan received the 2010 Lars Onsager Prize from the American Physical Society "for seminal work on the classification and characterization of two-dimensional unitary conformal field theories of critical states."[6] He teaches at Rutgers University currently.

Personal life

Daniel is married to an Icelandic physics teacher, Ragnheiður Guðmundsdóttir. They have two daughters and one son together.

References
  1. Judith Adler Hennessee, Betty Friedan: her life, Random House, 1999, p.50
  2. Feminist author, icon Betty Friedan dies at 85, USA Today, February 4, 2006. Accessed August 1, 2011
  3. American Physical Society Recognizes Rutgers Professors for Outstanding Research, Rutgers University newstelease, March 16, 2010. Accessed August 1, 2011
  4. MacArthur `Genius Awards' To 32; Honors List Includes Washington Writer, The Washington Post, June 16, 1987
  5. D. Friedan, unpublished lectures given at the Mathematics and Physics Conference (Durham, England, July 1979), at the Nuffield Workshop on Quantum Gravity (Cambridge, England, August 13, 1979), and at the Nato Advanced Study Institute on Recent Developments in Gauge Theories (Cargese, France, August 1979), and unpublished manuscript, "Geometric Models for Critical Systems in 2 + ε Dimensions," subtitled "Expanded Version of a talk given at the Nuffield Workshop on Quantum Gravity, DAMTP, Cambridge University, August 13, 1979," commissioned by the directors of the 1979 Nuffield Workshop, and privately circulated to them at the conclusion of the workshop. See also arXiv:hep-ph/0204131.
  6. 2010 Lars Onsager Prize Recipient, American Physical Society. Accessed August 1, 2011


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