Rolf Landauer: Difference between revisions
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'''Rolf Landauer''' (1927 – 1999) was an [[IBM]] [[physicist]] who in 1961 demonstrated that when [[information]] is lost in an [[irreversible circuit]], the [[information]] becomes [[entropy]] and an associated amount of [[energy]] is dissipated as [[heat]]. This principle is relevant to [[reversible computing]], [[quantum information]] and [[quantum computing]]. |
'''Rolf Landauer''' (1927 – 1999) was an [[IBM]] [[physicist]] who in 1961 demonstrated that when [[information]] is lost in an [[irreversible circuit]], the [[information]] becomes [[entropy]] and an associated amount of [[energy]] is dissipated as [[heat]]. This principle is relevant to [[reversible computing]], [[quantum information]] and [[quantum computing]]. |
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Landauer was born on February 4, [[1927]] in [[Stuttgart]], [[Germany]]. He [[emigration|emigrated]] to the [[United States]] in 1938, [[graduation|graduated]] in 1943 from [[Stuyvesant High School]], one of [[New York]] City's [[mathematics]] and [[science]] magnet schools, and obtained his undergraduate degree from [[Harvard]] in 1945. Following service in the [[US Navy]] as an Electrician's Mate, he earned his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1950. |
Landauer was born on February 4, [[1927]] in [[Stuttgart]], [[Germany]]. He [[emigration|emigrated]] to the [[United States]] in 1938, [[graduation|graduated]] in 1943 from [[Stuyvesant High School]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507E7D7103DF933A05757C0A96F958260 |title=Rolf Landauer, Pioneer in Computer Theory, Dies at 72 |first=George |last=Johnson |date=[[1999-04-30]] |publisher=[[New York Times]] |accessdate=2007-10-31}}</ref> one of [[New York]] City's [[mathematics]] and [[science]] magnet schools, and obtained his undergraduate degree from [[Harvard]] in 1945. Following service in the [[US Navy]] as an Electrician's Mate, he earned his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1950. |
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He first worked for two years at [[NASA]], then known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, then at the age of 25, Landauer began a career in semiconductors at IBM. As part of the two-man team responsible for managing IBM's Research Division in the mid-1960s, he was involved in a number of programs, including the company's work on semiconductor lasers. In 1969, he was appointed an [[IBM Fellow]]. |
He first worked for two years at [[NASA]], then known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, then at the age of 25, Landauer began a career in semiconductors at IBM. As part of the two-man team responsible for managing IBM's Research Division in the mid-1960s, he was involved in a number of programs, including the company's work on semiconductor lasers. In 1969, he was appointed an [[IBM Fellow]]. |
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== References == |
== References == |
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* Perry, R. T. (2004). ''The temple of quantum computing''. p. 26 – 27. Retrieved 11 January 2005 with |
* Perry, R. T. (2004). ''The temple of quantum computing''. p. 26 – 27. Retrieved 11 January 2005 with |
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Revision as of 01:33, 1 November 2007
Rolf Landauer | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 4, 1927 |
| Died | April 27, 1999 |
| Nationality | American  -German  |
| Alma mater | Harvard |
| Known for | Landauer's principle, The Landauer picture of quantum transport |
| Awards | Oliver E. Buckley Prize (1995) Edison Medal (1998) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physicist |
| Institutions | National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics IBM |
| Doctoral advisor | Léon Brillouin and Wendell Furry |
| Doctoral students | None |
Rolf Landauer (1927 – 1999) was an IBM physicist who in 1961 demonstrated that when information is lost in an irreversible circuit, the information becomes entropy and an associated amount of energy is dissipated as heat. This principle is relevant to reversible computing, quantum information and quantum computing.
Landauer was born on February 4, 1927 in Stuttgart, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in 1938, graduated in 1943 from Stuyvesant High School,[1] one of New York City's mathematics and science magnet schools, and obtained his undergraduate degree from Harvard in 1945. Following service in the US Navy as an Electrician's Mate, he earned his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1950.
He first worked for two years at NASA, then known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, then at the age of 25, Landauer began a career in semiconductors at IBM. As part of the two-man team responsible for managing IBM's Research Division in the mid-1960s, he was involved in a number of programs, including the company's work on semiconductor lasers. In 1969, he was appointed an IBM Fellow.
Much of his research since then relates to the kinetics of small structures. He showed that in systems with two or more competing states of local stability, their likelihood depends on noise all along the path connecting them. In electron transport theory, he is particularly associated with the idea, taken from circuit theory, that electric flow can be considered a consequence of current sources as well as applied fields. He has also pioneered in the area of information handling. His principles have been applied to computers and to the measurement process, and is the basis for Landauer's own demonstration that communication, in principle, can be done without minimal unavoidable energy use.
Awards and Honors
- Fellow,IEEE
- member, National Academy of Engineering
- member, National Academy of Sciences
- member, European Academy of Sciences and Arts
- Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- honorary doctorate, Technion in Israel
- 1991 Scott Lecturer at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University
- 1992 Stuart Ballantine Medal of the Franklin Institute
- Centennial Medal by Harvard in 1993,
- Oliver E. Buckley Prize by the American Physical Society (1995)
- Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton (LVMH) Science for Art Prize (1997)
- IEEE Edison Medal (1998) For pioneering contributions to the physics of computing and conduction.
The range of his work has been recognized in special issues of two journals, 10 years apart. They are the IBM Journal of Research and Development (January 1988) and the Superlattices and Microstructures (March/April 1998).
Dr. Landauer died on 27 April 1999 at his home in Briarcliff Manor, NY, USA from brain cancer.
External links
References
- Perry, R. T. (2004). The temple of quantum computing. p. 26 – 27. Retrieved 11 January 2005 with
- ^ Johnson, George (1999-04-30). "Rolf Landauer, Pioneer in Computer Theory, Dies at 72". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
- Stuyvesant High School alumni
- 1927 births
- 1999 deaths
- IBM Fellows
- Erdős number 4
- Harvard Centennial Medal recipients
- Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
- Information theorists
- Members and associates of the United States National Academy of Engineering
- Members and associates of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- IEEE Edison Medal recipients