Date:
Monday, December 6, 2021
Alexei (Alex) Maradudin will celebrate his 90th birthday on December 14th, 2021. His record of achievements during his more than half a century at UC Irvine is truly astonishing. His career at UCI is an outstanding example of the balance among research, education, and campus and professional service expected of University of California faculty.
Alex was one of eight founding faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy in 1965 (then the Department of Physics). He was attracted to move to the new university in Irvine (not yet the City of Irvine) from his previous employment at the Westinghouse Research Laboratories in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
During his prolific career as a theoretical condensed matter physicist he published more than 450 papers (and that number does not include more than 170 publications in conference proceedings). Many of these publications related to the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with solid state surfaces. His research accomplishments earned him many honors including the status of Fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Physical Society, Optical Society of America, Electromagnetic Academy, Physical Review Letters, and the Institute of Physics (U.K.).
His professional service includes membership on the editorial board of Physical Review A and E, and Associate Editor of Physics Letters A, Solid State Communications, the Journal of Mathematical Physics, and Physics Reports.
Alex also found time to produce an astonishing record of campus and university service including Chair of the Department of Physics, Dean of the UCI Graduate Studies, Chair of the UCI Division of the Academic Senate, and the Vice Chair and Chair of the UC Academic Senate. He also served as the Director of the UCI Institute of Surface and Interface Science.
He is a Recipient of the award of Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education in Physics and Astronomy at UCI, and he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Paris. Alex was also a founding member of the Phi Beta Kappa chapter Mu of California. He is noted for his impeccable cursive handwriting both on paper and on a white-board.
Alex officially retired a decade ago and moved to Northern California two years age.
Congradulations to Alex for his inspiring record of professional achievements and contributions to the campus and university.