Martin Gutzwiller

Martin C. Gutzwiller is a physicist. He is known for the invention of the variational wave-function describing electrons with strong localized interactions (Gutzwiller approximation), for the first investigation of relations between classical and quantum mechanics in chaotic systems (quantum chaos), as well as new solutions to mathematical problems in field theory, wave propagation, crystal physics, quantum and celestial mechanics.

Gutzwiller, born and raised in Switzerland, initially studied quantum physics under Wolfgang Pauli at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH, Zurich) up to the Diploma degree in 1950. He then went to Kansas State University and obtained a doctorate degree with Max Dresden. He worked in microwave engineering for the BBC, in geophysics for Shell Oil, and eventually for IBM Research in Switzerland, New York City, and Yorktown Heights, until his retirement in 1993. He is currently adjunct professor at Yale University. Other teaching positions include Columbia University, ETH Zurich, Paris-Orsay, and Stockholm.

Book:

• Chaos in Classical and Quantum Mechanics, 1990

Honors include:

• Member of the National Academies of Science (1992)
• Fellow of the American Physical Society
• 1993 Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics (American Physical Society, American Institute of Physics)
• 2003 Max-Planck Medal (German Physical Society)