Horst Ludwig Störmer

Horst Ludwig Störmer - Physicists, Life Achievements and Personal Life

Violet FieldHome › GermanHorst Ludwig StörmerApril 6, 1949358 views

0 based on 0 rates
Horst Ludwig Störmer Biography Stories 

Horst Ludwig Störmer's Personal Details

Horst Ludwig Störmer is a German-born American physicist who was one of the co-recipients the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics.

InformationDetail
BirthdayApril 6, 1949
NationalityGerman
FamousScientists, Physicists
Birth PlaceFrankfurt, Germany
GenderMale
Sun SignAries
Born inFrankfurt, Germany
Famous asPhysicist

// Famous Physicists

Henry Cavendish

Henry Cavendish

Henry Cavendish was a theoretical chemist and physicist, renowned for discovery of hydrogen and calculation of the mass of earth. To know more about his childhood, profile, timeline and career read on

Walter Kohn

Walter Kohn

Nobel Laureate Walter Kohn was an Austrian-born American theoretical chemist and physicist. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, best known for his development of alternating current electrical systems. This biography of Nikola Tesla provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Horst Ludwig Störmer's photo

Who is Horst Ludwig Störmer?

Horst Ludwig Störmer is a German-born American physicist who was one of the co-recipients of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contribution to the discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations. He spent several years working at Bell Labs with another prominent scientist, Daniel Tsui, with whom he conducted the experiments on the quantum Hall effect. Born into a middle-class, close-knit family in Germany, he grew up building castles and other structures as a child which demonstrated his early aptitude for both physics and architecture. After completing his schooling, he decided to study architecture but changed his mind mid-way and shifted to mathematics and physics. After graduating from the University of Frankfurt he proceeded to earn a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Stuttgart after completing his doctoral work under Prof. Hans-Joachim Queisser. He soon moved to the United States to take up a job at the Bell Labs, the research arm of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). It was here that he became acquainted with Daniel Tsui, an expert on two-dimensional electron systems in silicon. The two men collaborated to perform important research on the quantum Hall effect which eventually led to the discovery of the fractional quantum Hall effect.

// Famous Scientists

Juliane Koepcke

Juliane Koepcke

Juliane Koepcke is a German-Peruvian biologist, who was the lone survivor among the 92 passengers and crew of the ill-fated LANSA Flight 508 that crashed in the Peruvian rainforest on 24 December 1971. Know more about her life in this biography.

Henry Cavendish

Henry Cavendish

Henry Cavendish was a theoretical chemist and physicist, renowned for discovery of hydrogen and calculation of the mass of earth. To know more about his childhood, profile, timeline and career read on

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was a Russian rocket scientist and a pioneer of astronautics. This biography provides detailed information about his childhood, family, personal life, career, achievements, etc.

Childhood & Early Life

Horst Ludwig Störmer was born on April 6, 1949, in Frankfurt, Germany. His forefathers had been farmers, inn-keepers, blacksmiths, carpenters and shop keepers in the region. He had one brother and his parents were very particular that the children get good education, an opportunity they had been denied themselves.

He grew up in the circle of an extended family and spent his childhood building sand castles and cardboard tents with his brother and cousins. He entered a gymnasium at the age of ten to begin his studies. While he performed well in science and mathematics, he fared poorly in languages. He also excelled in sports, particularly in track and field.

He performed various scientific experiments as a teenager and even lost a part of his thumb in an accident resulting from an explosion. He passed high school with average grades and started to study architecture at the Technical High School in Darmstadt.

Within a few months he realized that architecture was not for him and shifted to study mathematics and physics at the J.W. Goethe-Universität at Frankfurt am Main. He completed the thesis for his diploma in Professor Werner Martienssen's Physical Institute where he was supervised by Prof. Eckhardt Hoenig. Here he also got the chance to work alongside another future Nobel laureate, Gerd Binnig.

He moved to France for his doctorate and worked in a laboratory which was run jointly between the French CNRS and the German Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. He wrote a thesis on investigations of electron hole droplets subject to high magnetic fields under the guidance of Prof. Hans-Joachim Queisser, and was awarded a PhD by the University of Stuttgart in 1977.

Career

While working on his doctorate, Horst Ludwig Störmer was advised by Prof. Queisser to move to the United States and work for Bell Labs, the research arm of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). Encouraged by his mentor, Störmer moved to Bell Labs in June 1977.

His initial research at the labs was on modulation-doping which earned him a permanent position at Bell Labs in the fall of 1978. Soon joined by his long-time assistant, Kirk Baldwin, he proceeded to conduct many physics experiments that paved the way for many optical experiments on two-dimensional electron systems.

At that time, Daniel Tsui—one of the world's leading experts on two-dimensional electron systems in silicon—was already working with Bell Labs. Störmer was already acquainted with Tsui and the two men formed a long-term professional collaboration and personal friendship.

The men began researching on the quantum Hall effect which had recently been discovered in 1980 by Klaus von Klitzing. Another topic of their research was the electron crystal, which was theoretically predicted to form in very low electron density samples in very high magnetic field.

The duo observed the Hall effect in semiconductors at temperatures close to absolute zero and under extremely powerful magnetic fields. They made an interesting observation in 1982 and by chance discovered the fractional quantum Hall effect. The following year, American physicist Robert B. Laughlin provided the explanation for this phenomenon by proposing that the electrons in the powerful magnetic fields form a quantum fluid made up of quasi-particles that have fractional electric charges.

Störmer was promoted to head the department for Electronic and Optical Properties of Solids in 1983 and as director of the Physical Research Laboratory in 1991. His career at the Bell Labs was a very exciting one, but he had always thought of becoming a teacher one day. He stepped down from his position in 1997 to pursue his passion and joined Columbia University in 1998 as a Professor of Physics and Applied Physics, while remaining Adjunct Physics Director at Bell Labs on a part-time basis.

Major Works

Horst Ludwig Störmer is best known for his invention of modulation doping, a method for making extremely high mobility two dimensional electron systems in semiconductors. This laid the foundation for the future observation of the fractional quantum Hall effect which Störmer made in collaboration with Daniel Tsui.

Awards & Achievements

In 1998, Horst L. Störmer, Robert B. Laughlin, and Daniel C. Tsui were awarded jointly the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics for the discovery of the fractional quantum hall effect. Later the same year, the trio was awarded jointly the Nobel Prize in Physics "for their discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations."

Personal Life & Legacy

He met Dominique Parchet while working on his PhD and later married her.

// Famous Aries Celebrities peoples

Skai Jackson

Skai Jackson

Skai Jackson is an American child actress with huge fan following. Find more about her family & personal life, relationships, facts and more.

Shemar Moore

Shemar Moore

Shemar Moore is a model turned actor best known for his role in the television series ‘The Young and the Restless’. This biography of Shemar Moore provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Vasily Zaytsev

Vasily Zaytsev

Vasily Zatysev was a Russian sniper who served during the World War II. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him.

Horst Ludwig Störmer's awards

YearNameAward

Other

0Nobel Prize in Physics

Horst Ludwig Störmer biography timelines

  • // 6th Apr 1949
    Horst Ludwig Störmer was born on April 6, 1949, in Frankfurt, Germany. His forefathers had been farmers, inn-keepers, blacksmiths, carpenters and shop keepers in the region. He had one brother and his parents were very particular that the children get good education, an opportunity they had been denied themselves.
  • // 1977
    He moved to France for his doctorate and worked in a laboratory which was run jointly between the French CNRS and the German Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. He wrote a thesis on investigations of electron hole droplets subject to high magnetic fields under the guidance of Prof. Hans-Joachim Queisser, and was awarded a PhD by the University of Stuttgart in 1977.
  • // Jun 1977
    While working on his doctorate, Horst Ludwig Störmer was advised by Prof. Queisser to move to the United States and work for Bell Labs, the research arm of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). Encouraged by his mentor, Störmer moved to Bell Labs in June 1977.
  • // 1978
    His initial research at the labs was on modulation-doping which earned him a permanent position at Bell Labs in the fall of 1978. Soon joined by his long-time assistant, Kirk Baldwin, he proceeded to conduct many physics experiments that paved the way for many optical experiments on two-dimensional electron systems.
  • // 1980
    The men began researching on the quantum Hall effect which had recently been discovered in 1980 by Klaus von Klitzing. Another topic of their research was the electron crystal, which was theoretically predicted to form in very low electron density samples in very high magnetic field.
  • // 1982
    The duo observed the Hall effect in semiconductors at temperatures close to absolute zero and under extremely powerful magnetic fields. They made an interesting observation in 1982 and by chance discovered the fractional quantum Hall effect. The following year, American physicist Robert B. Laughlin provided the explanation for this phenomenon by proposing that the electrons in the powerful magnetic fields form a quantum fluid made up of quasi-particles that have fractional electric charges.
  • // 1998
    In 1998, Horst L. Störmer, Robert B. Laughlin, and Daniel C. Tsui were awarded jointly the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics for the discovery of the fractional quantum hall effect. Later the same year, the trio was awarded jointly the Nobel Prize in Physics "for their discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations."

// Famous German peoples

Jordan Carver

Jordan Carver

Jordan Carver is a famous German model. Let’s take a close look at her personal life, including her age, career, net worth, achievements and some fun facts.

Jürgen Klopp

Jürgen Klopp

Jürgen Klopp is a German football manager, and a former professional football player. Check out this biography to know more about his childhood, family, personal life, etc.

Irma Grese

Irma Grese

Irma Grese was a notorious German Nazi concentration camp guard during the Second World War. This biography profiles her childhood, life, horrifying acts, death and other facts.

Juliane Koepcke

Juliane Koepcke

Juliane Koepcke is a German-Peruvian biologist, who was the lone survivor among the 92 passengers and crew of the ill-fated LANSA Flight 508 that crashed in the Peruvian rainforest on 24 December 1971. Know more about her life in this biography.

Jawed Karim

Jawed Karim

Jawed Karim is a German-American internet entrepreneur, technologist and co-founder of the video-sharing website, YouTube. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family, personal life, achievements, age, etc.

Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski was a German-born American novelist, short story writer and poet. With this biography, learn in details about his childhood, life, works, career and timeline

Horst Ludwig Störmer's FAQ

  • What is Horst Ludwig Störmer birthday?

    Horst Ludwig Störmer was born at 1949-04-06

  • Where is Horst Ludwig Störmer's birth place?

    Horst Ludwig Störmer was born in Frankfurt, Germany

  • What is Horst Ludwig Störmer nationalities?

    Horst Ludwig Störmer's nationalities is German

  • What is Horst Ludwig Störmer's sun sign?

    Horst Ludwig Störmer is Aries

  • How famous is Horst Ludwig Störmer?

    Horst Ludwig Störmer is famouse as Physicist