Tom Lubensky Named Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Physics

Tom Lubensky has been appointed the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Physics.

Lubensky, previously the Mary Amanda Wood Chair of Physics, has spent most of his academic career at Penn. He joined the faculty in 1971 and has served as chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and as the associate director of the Laboratory for Research in the Structure of Matter. His research focuses largely on liquid crystals and other soft materials; his book with P. M. Chaikin, Principles of Condensed Matter Physics (Cambridge University Press, 2000), has been lauded as the "classic textbook for soft condensed matter."

In 2002, Lubensky was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and an Honored Member of the International Liquid Crystal Society. Among his other awards are Alfred P. Sloan and Guggenheim Fellowships as well as the Oliver E. Buckley Prize of the American Physical Society.

This Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professorship is one of several created with exceptionally generous gifts from the late Christopher H. Browne, C'69. Browne served as the chairman of the Board of Overseers of the School of Arts and Sciences from 1999 to 2009 and as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania from 1991 to 2009. The Browne Chairs recognize faculty members who have earned extraordinary reputations for their scholarly contributions, demonstrated distinction in teaching, and displayed intellectual integrity and unwavering commitment to the free and open discussion of ideas. They are considered one of the highest honors that SAS bestows on its faculty.