physics

Warren E. Pickett

Warren E. Pickett is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Warren E. Pickett rather than just read about it. In short: Warren Pickett is an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the field of condensed matter physics and materials properties. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Davis.

Key takeaways

Warren E. Pickett belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Warren E. Pickett to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Warren E. Pickett from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Warren Pickett is an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the field of condensed matter physics and materials properties. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Davis. His research has focused on the understanding of materials properties, including high-temperature superconductivity, unusual magnetic ordering, novel transport and thermoelectric response, and nanostructured condensed matter phenomena. He is the recipient of Alexander von Humboldt Professorship and a Simons Foundation Professorship (2012). He is the fellow of the American Physical Society, Institute of Physics and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Education and career After obtaining the BS and MS degrees from Wichita State University, he earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Stony Brook University in 1975, during which he spent a year at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge U.K. Pickett began his professional career in 1979 as Research Scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C., where he contributed to the development of computational methods for understanding the electronic structure of materials. His work earned him the Second Prize in the 1990 IBM Supercomputing Competition. In 1997, Pickett joined the University of California Davis as Professor of Physics. He was promoted to Distinguished Professor in 2002. Pickett served as Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy from 2008 to 2011. In 1990, just after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Pickett was hosted by the Russian Academy of Science for a week visit at the Lebedev Institute of Physics in Moscow, followed by attendance at a conference at the Joint Institute of Nuclear Physics in Dubna. Pickett has been involved in science diplomacy, beginning with American scientists' visits to the USSR during the Cold War. Initially supported by both the U.S. and U.S.S.R. national academies, this effort is now backed by the U.S. State Department's Office of Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. After attending the 2003 Magnetic and Superconducting Materials (MSM03) in Tunisia, Pickett joined the Steering Committee of this biennial event, which promotes research collaboration with developing countries. In February 2014, Pickett visited Iran with Nobel laureate Anthony Leggett and physicist Paul Chu to foster scientific exchange despite political sensitivities. During their two-week visit, they gave lectures at four universities and participated in the 4th National Conference on Advanced Superconductivity at Sharif University. His research has been supported by the Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences program, the National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research, with some early support from the Office of Naval Research.

Selected publications Pickett, Warren E. (1989). "Electronic structure of the high-temperature oxide superconductors". Reviews of Modern Physics. 61 (2): 433–512. Bibcode:1989RvMP...61..433P. doi:10.1103/revmodphys.61.433. ISSN 0034-6861. Pickett, Warren E. (1989). "Pseudopotential methods in condensed matter applications". Computer Physics Reports. 9 (3): 115–197. Bibcode:1989CoPhR...9..115P. doi:10.1016/0167-7977(89)90002-6. ISSN 0167-7977. Pickett, W. E.; Singh, D. J.; Krakauer, H.; Cohen, R. E. (1992-01-03). "Fermi Surfaces, Fermi Liquids, and High-Temperature Superconductors". Science. 255 (5040): 46–54. Bibcode:1992Sci...255...46P. doi:10.1126/science.255.5040.46. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17739913. Pickett, Warren E.; Moodera, Jagadeesh S. (2001-05-01). "Half Metallic Magnets". Physics Today. 54 (5): 39–44. Bibcode:2001PhT....54e..39P. doi:10.1063/1.1381101. ISSN 0031-9228. Pickett, Warren; Eremets, Mikhail (2019-05-01). "The quest for room-temperature superconductivity in hydrides". Physics Today. 72 (5): 52–58. Bibcode:2019PhT....72e..52P. doi:10.1063/pt.3.4204. ISSN 0031-9228. Pickett, Warren E. (7 April 2023). "Colloquium: Room temperature superconductivity: The roles of theory and materials design". Reviews of Modern Physics. 95 (2) 021001. arXiv:2204.05930. Bibcode:2023RvMP...95b1001P. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.95.021001. Pickett, Warren E. (31 May 1982). "Renormalized Thermal Distribution Function in an Interacting Electron-Phonon System". Physical Review Letters. 48 (22): 1548–1551. Bibcode:1982PhRvL..48.1548P. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.48.1548.

References

External links Warren E. Pickett publications indexed by Google Scholar

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Warren E. Pickett

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Warren E. Pickett claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Warren E. Pickett before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Warren E. Pickett ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Warren E. Pickett

In research: Warren E. Pickett appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Warren E. Pickett in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Warren E. Pickett is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 21st-century American physicists, American computational physicists, American particle physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Warren E. Pickett outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Warren E. Pickett” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Warren E. Pickett in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Warren E. Pickett means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Warren E. Pickett out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Warren E. Pickett in simple terms?

Why does Warren E. Pickett matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Warren E. Pickett?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Warren E. Pickett.