Philip Phillips

Professor Philip Phillips is a distinguished theoretical condensed matter physicist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's College of Engineering, Department of Physics. He received his bachelor's degree from Walla Walla College in 1979 and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1982, followed by a Miller Fellowship at Berkeley. He joined MIT as faculty from 1984-1993 before moving to UIUC in 1993, where he has remained since.

His research focuses on explaining experimental observations that challenge standard paradigms of electron transport and magnetism in solid state physics, particularly in systems with strong electron interactions, disorder, and near zero-temperature quantum critical points. His work centers on understanding the physics of strong coupling, which represents one of the unconquered frontiers in physics.

Phillips has made seminal contributions to the field of condensed matter physics, including the invention of models for Bose metals, Mottness, and the random dimer model (which exhibits extended states in one dimension, contradicting Anderson's localization theorem). His research spans several key areas: the physics of high-temperature cuprate superconductors (particularly the concept of 'Mottness'), Fe-based superconductors, dirty bosons, topological insulators, and applications of gauge/gravity duality to condensed matter problems.

His publications demonstrate consistent high-impact research output across multiple decades, with recent work focusing on fractional electromagnetism, non-Fermi liquid behavior, and applications of holographic methods to strongly correlated electron systems. His research has evolved from fundamental theoretical work on localization and transport to more recent applications of advanced theoretical frameworks to explain experimental puzzles in quantum materials.

• Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020)
• John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2015)
• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2012)
• Bliss Faculty Scholar, College of Engineering (2005)
• University Scholar (2004)
• American Physical Society Fellow (2002)
• Edward A. Bouchet Lecturer of the American Physical Society (2000)

Professor Phillips has advised numerous graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, contributing significantly to the training of the next generation of theoretical physicists. His research has been supported by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, focusing on strongly correlated electron systems and quantum materials. He leads a research group that tackles some of the most challenging problems in condensed matter physics, particularly those involving non-Fermi liquid behavior and quantum criticality.

His laboratory and research group focus on theoretical investigations of quantum materials, with particular emphasis on the interplay between strong correlations, disorder, and topology. Current projects include exploring fractional electromagnetism in strange metals, understanding the nature of the pseudogap phase in cuprates, and developing new theoretical frameworks for non-Fermi liquid behavior using holographic methods.