William H. Parker (physicist) explained

William Henry Parker
Citizenship:United States
Fields:Physics, academic administration
Workplaces:University of California, Irvine
Education:Allegheny College, University of Pennsylvania
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Known For:Research regarding fundamental constants and solid state physics
Awards:John Price Wetherill Medal (1975), Sloan Research Fellow (1968-1970), UCI Medal (2009)
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William H. Parker (born 1941) is an American professor of physics and academic administrator at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Parker's earliest laboratory research involved seminal experiments that refined the precision of the measurements of fundamental constants.[1] [2] [3]   His later research focused on superconductors and other aspects of solid-state physics.  In an administrative capacity at UCI, Parker has served in a variety of roles including as Dean, Department Chair, and Vice Chancellor.

Education and research

Parker earned a bachelor's degree from Allegheny College in 1963.[4]   He obtained MS and PhD degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.  He then joined the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UCI in 1967 and he has remained there for his entire career.  He was a Sloan Research Fellow from 1968 to 1970. In collaboration with Donald N. Langenberg and Barry N. Taylor, Parker used the alternating current Josephson effect to precisely measure e/h, the ratio of the elementary charge (e) to the Planck constant (h).[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] This ratio could then also be used to refine the value of other fundamental constants such as the fine-structure constant (α). The new measurement of α removed a discrepancy between the theoretical and experimental values of the hyperfine splitting in the ground state of atomic hydrogen, one of the major unsolved problems of quantum electrodynamics at time.[1] [6] For this research, Parker received the John Price Wetherill Medal from the Franklin Institute in 1975.[13] Parker's other research examined Josephson junctions[14] [15] and other aspects of low temperature physics including quasiparticle and phonon lifetimes,[16] [17] quasiparticle energy distribution in superconducting films,[18] surface impedance,[19] [20] and thermal fluctuations in superconducting materials.[21]

Administration and teaching

At UCI, Parker has been Associate Vice Chancellor (1984 to 2000), Vice Chancellor for Research (2000-2006), Dean of Graduate Studies (2000 to 2006), Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy (2007 to 2012), and president of the university's Irvine Campus Housing Authority (1983-1990).[4]   Throughout his more than fifty years at the university, Parker has won multiple honors, including the Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. Distinguished University Service Award (1980 and 2008) and the UCI Medal (2009),[22] UCI's highest award.[23]   For his teaching, Parker has twice won the School of Physical Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award.[4]

Parker is coauthor of the book The Fundamental Constants and Quantum Electrodynamics.[24]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Landmark Experiments in Twentieth Century Physics . 978-0486285269 . George L. Trigg. Dover Publications . 2011 .
  2. August 1969 . 66 . Josephson Effect Permits New Look at Fundamental Constants . Physics Today . 22 . 8 . 10.1063/1.3035742 .
  3. 2 . 1973 . 215–291 . Quantum theory of Josephson radiation . D. Rogovin, Marlan O.Scully, P. Lee . 10.1016/0079-6727(73)90006-2 . Progress in Quantum Electronics . 1973PQE.....2..215R .
  4. Web site: UCI Stories: William Parker . UCI Libraries .
  5. Determination of e/h using the AC Josephson effect . Langenberg, Donald N.; Parker, William Henry; Taylor, Barry N. . Proc. Int. Conf. At. Masses . 1967 . 439–460.
  6. Measurement of 2e/h using the ac Josephson effect and its implications for quantum electrodynamics . Parker, William Henry; Taylor, Barry Norman; Langenberg, Donald N. . Physical Review Letters . 1967 . 18 . 8 . 287–291 . 10.1103/PhysRevLett.18.287 . 1967PhRvL..18..287P .
  7. Determination of e/h, Using Macroscopic Quantum Phase Coherence in Superconductors: Implications for Quantum Electrodynamics and the Fundamental Physical Constants . B. N. Taylor, W. H. Parker, and D. N. Langenberg . Rev. Mod. Phys. . 41 . 375–496 . 1969 . 3 . 10.1103/RevModPhys.41.375 . 1969RvMP...41..375T .
  8. Reassessment of a determination of e/h, using macroscopic quantum phase coherence in superconductors . Denenstein, Arnold; Finnegan, T. F.; Langenberg, Donald N.; Parker, William Henry; Taylor, Barry Norman . Physical Review B . 1970 . 1 . 11 . 4500–4503 . 10.1103/PhysRevB.1.4500 . 1970PhRvB...1.4500D .
  9. Constants of fundamental physics . Taylor, Barry Norman; Langenberg, Donald N.; Parker, William Henry . Recherche . 1970 . 1 . 5 . 423–431 .
  10. Fundamental physical constants . Taylor, Barry Norman; Langenberg, Donald N.; Parker, William Henry . Scientific American . 1970 . 223 . 4 . 62–78 . 10.1038/scientificamerican1070-62 . 1970SciAm.223d..62T .
  11. Measurement of h/me using rotating superconductors . Parker, W. H.; Simmonds, M. B. . 1971 . 343 . 243–348 . Precision Measurement and Fundamental Constants . 1971pmfc.conf..243P .
  12. Large-diameter superconducting quantum interference devices for a measurement of h/m . Falco, C. M.; Parker, W. H. . Proc. Int. Conf. Low Temp. Phys. . 1974 . 4 . 563–567 .
  13. Web site: The Franklin Institute Awards: William Henry Parker . 11 January 2014 . .
  14. Linewidth of the radiation emitted by a Josephson junction . Dahm, Arnold J.; Denenstein, Arnold; Langenberg, Donald N.; Parker, William Henry; Rogovin, D.; Scalapino, Douglas J. . Physical Review Letters . 1969 . 22 . 26 . 1416–1420 . 10.1103/PhysRevLett.22.1416 . 1969PhRvL..22.1416D .
  15. Effect of thermal noise on current-voltage characteristics of Josephson junctions . Falco, C. M.; Parker, W. H.; Trullinger, S. E.; Hansma, Paul K. . Physical Review B . 1974 . 10 . 5 . 1865–1873 . 10.1103/PhysRevB.10.1865 . 1974PhRvB..10.1865F .
  16. Effective quasiparticle lifetime in superconducting tin . Parker, W. H. . Solid State Communications . 1974 . 15 . 6 . 1003–1005 . 10.1016/0038-1098(74)90518-3 . 1974SSCom..15.1003P .
  17. Quasiparticle and phonon lifetimes in superconducting lead films . Jaworski, F.; Parker, W. H.; Kaplan, S. B. . Physical Review B . 1976 . 14 . 9 . 4209–4212 . 10.1103/PhysRevB.14.4209 .
  18. Experimental determination of the quasiparticle energy distribution function in optically perturbed superconducting films . Jaworski, F.; Parker, W. H. . Physical Review B . 1979 . 20 . 3 . 945–951 . 10.1103/PhysRevB.20.945 . 1979PhRvB..20..945J .
  19. Study of the temperature dependent anomalous surface impedance of copper . Love, David P.; Van Degrift, Craig T.; Parker, W. H. . Proc. Int. Conf. Low Temp. Phys., 14th . 1975 . 3 . 106–109 .
  20. Electronic relaxation rates of copper, aluminum, and potassium determined from the temperature dependence of the anomalous surface impedance . Love, David P.; Van Degrift, Craig T.; Parker, W. H. . Physical Review B . 1982 . 26 . 10 . 5577–5589 . 10.1103/PhysRevB.26.5577 . 1982PhRvB..26.5577L .
  21. Thermal Fluctuations in Superconducting Weak Links . M. Simmonds and W. H. Parker . Phys. Rev. Lett. . 1970 . 24 . 16 . 876–879 . 10.1103/PhysRevLett.24.876 . 1970PhRvL..24..876S .
  22. Web site: UCI Medal Awards . 2009: William Parker, Ph.D. Professor who transformed fundamental physics and campus housing models through five decades of service to UC Irvine .
  23. Web site: Faculty Honors & Awards . UCI Department of Physics and Astronomy . UCI Medal (the highest honor awarded by UCI) ... William Parker, 2009.
  24. Book: The Fundamental Constants and Quantum Electrodynamics . B. N. Taylor, William H. Parker, D. N. Langenberg . Academic Press . 1969.

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