Brian Josephson is a theoretical physicist who conducted pioneering work on superconductivity and quantum tunnelling whilst still a postgraduate student. Brian theoretically predicted the existence of the now eponymous Josephson effect, whereby an electric current can flow across a thin insulating layer or ‘tunnel’ at the junction of two superconducting materials. He was a co-recipient of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics for this research.
His findings have enabled the development of highly sensitive magnetometers, known as superconducting quantum interference devices. In the late 1970s, Brian became actively involved in the scientific analysis of parapsychology. He later set up the Mind–Matter Unification Project at Cambridge, which attempts to clarify the role of the mind in nature.
In addition to the Nobel Prize, Brian’s achievements have been recognised by the 1972 Hughes Medal of the Royal Society and membership of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1974, amongst other honours. In 2004, he was voted as one of the top 100 Welsh men and women of all time.
Professional position
- Fellow, Trinity College, University of Cambridge
- Professor Emeritus of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge
Subject groups
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Astronomy and Physics
Mathematical and theoretical physics
Awards
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Hughes Medal
Particularly for his discovery of the remarkable properties of junctions between superconducting materials.
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Nobel Prize in Physics
Half of prize for his theoretical predictions of the properties of a supercurrent through a tunnel barrier, in particular those phenomena which are generally known as the Josephson effects.
