Subir Sachdev was educated at St. Joseph's Boys' High School in Bengaluru, Kendriya Vidyalaya in Bengaluru, Indian Institute of Techology in Delhi, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University. He is currently the Herchel Smith Professor of Physics at Harvard University. He has been elected to national academies of science in India and the United States and is a recipient of several awards, including the Dirac Medal from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, and the Lars Onsager Prize from the American Physical Society.
Sachdev's research describes the connection between the observable properties of matter and the nature of quantum entanglement in the many-particle wavefunction. Some of this work is described in the books 'Quantum Phase Transitions' and 'Quantum Phases of Matter' published by Cambridge University Press. The Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model of many-particle entanglement has led to new insights on high temperature superconductivity in the copper-oxide compounds. The SYK model has also led to an understanding of how black holes with a net electrical charge realize Hawking's black hole entropy in a manner consistent with the principles of quantum mechanics.
Professional position
- Herchel Smith Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, Harvard University
Subject groups
- Astronomy and physics
Magnetism, Mathematical and theoretical physics, Quantum theory, Statistical
