Philip W. Phillips

Philip W. Phillips is a distinguished Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, holding the Bliss Faculty Scholar position in the College of Engineering. He received his bachelor's degree from Walla Walla College in 1979 and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1982. Following a Miller Fellowship at Berkeley, he joined the faculty at MIT (1984-1993) before moving to the University of Illinois in 1993, where he has remained since.

Professor Phillips is a theoretical condensed matter physicist with an international reputation for his work on transport in disordered and strongly correlated low-dimensional systems. His research focuses on explaining experimental observations that challenge standard paradigms of electron transport and magnetism in solid state physics, particularly in strongly interacting electron systems. His most significant contributions include the invention of models for Bose metals, Mottness, and the random dimer model, which exhibits extended states in one dimension, representing an exception to Anderson's localization theorem.

His research spans several key areas: Mottness physics in high-temperature cuprate superconductors, where he developed the concept of 'Mottness' to describe spectral weight transfer phenomena; Fe-based superconductors, exploring the interplay between orbital ordering, magnetism, and superconductivity; dirty bosons, investigating the Bose glass to superfluid transition; topological insulators, particularly regarding anomalous quantum oscillations; and applying gauge/gravity duality to cuprate physics.

His publication record shows a consistent output of high-impact research, with recent work focusing on non-Fermi liquid behavior, unparticles in strongly correlated systems, orbital physics in iron-based superconductors, and holographic approaches to condensed matter problems. His articles demonstrate a sophisticated integration of theoretical frameworks from quantum field theory, statistical mechanics, and string theory to address challenging problems in condensed matter physics.

• 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 maintains an active research group with multiple graduate students working on various aspects of strongly correlated electron systems. He teaches advanced courses including Condensed Matter Physics I and II, as well as interdisciplinary courses on Space, Time, and Matter. His research program is supported by ongoing grants that enable theoretical investigations into some of the most challenging problems in modern condensed matter physics. Phillips has established a robust research infrastructure that includes collaborations with experimental groups worldwide, allowing for direct connections between his theoretical work and experimental observations.