Encomium of John Bardeen

The name John Bardeen is uttered with quite familiarity on the University of Illinois campus, just like Busey, Edmund James, and all those “Six-Pack” residence halls. But how many students can match accomplishments to these names, illustrious enough to adorn the face of this University for all eternity? Bardeen itself has been attached to that little plot of land inhabiting the region between Everett Lab and Engineering Hall – quite small, but recipient of a huge quantity of pedestrian traffic. There is no place more fitting, as this is the area that aspirants of the electrical engineering discipline frequent the most.

John Bardeen was the only person in history to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics twice. The two technological breakthroughs that were honored by the Nobel represent the apex of his work; they revolutionized this world to the point that we would hardly be able recognize life prior to their inception, let alone contemplate living one like it. The subject of this panegyric must focus on the accomplishments of the man, rather than the exemplary nature of his character, but I shall show nevertheless that he was a paragon in both regards. Praise from a mere student such as myself will not benefit him in the slightest, but let it serve as a solemn remembrance of one who is infinitely greater.

The first Nobel was awarded for his involvement in the 1947 invention of the transistor, a device that can amplify and switch electrical signals. Such a thing hardly seems exceptional to those unfamiliar with the field, but in fact, the transistor is single-handedly responsible for revolutionizing the entire field of electronics. Its inception cleared the path for the development and mass production of now-widespread devices, such as computers, cell phones, and calculators. The Internet Age, the Information Age, the Obsolescence Age; for better or worse, you may attribute all of these to the rise of the transistor. Today, they are recognized as a fundamental building block in all electronics, replacing vacuum tubes as the primary electrical component. This spurred the transformation of electronics from towering behemoths to the palm-sized devices that we are accustomed to using today.

Simple logic gates, which are small architectural components that facilitate a computer’s binary logic, can consist of up to 20 transistors. An advanced microprocessor can contain up to 3 billion. In the year 2002, it was estimated that 60 million transistors were built annually just for you. It was also estimated that by 2010, the number of transistors built per person  annually would exceed one billion. Such is the ubiquity of this device in the modern era, and indeed, few other inventions can claim to have experienced the same meteoric rise.

Image (yikes): Atmel ATS2343 Microprocessor. Transistors circled in red.

As if this technological breakthrough were not enough, Bardeen was awarded a second Nobel for his contributions to superconductivity theory, which was developed when he was a professor at the University of Illinois. (Should you pass by the engineering quad, take a moment to stop and read the sign by the river titled Theory of Superconductivity. Or you can just click here.) The property of superconductivity refers to a material’s ability to maintain zero electrical resistance, which gives rise to powerful magnets and magnetic fields. Bardeen and his colleagues proposed an explanation for how materials achieve this state, which is now known as BCS theory. Superconducting magnets are widely used in modern equipment, such MRIs, mass spectrometers, and signal filters for cell phone towers. However, the most revolutionary applications of this theory are not yet completely within our grasp. Examples of these include magnetic levitation “maglev” devices (such as the maglev train), electric motors and generators for conventional vehicles, and the development of advanced materials such as nanotubes and composites.

Finally, let it be known that John Bardeen, despite his great genius, always maintained a humble and unassuming personality. Bardeen was recognized by his neighbors to be affable and frank, and was best known to them not for his scientific accomplishments but for the many cookouts he held right on his front lawn. In outward appearance, he never claimed to be anyone out of the ordinary, but instead embodied knowledge and achievement in his very manner. Too many in this field adhere to and perpetuate the stereotype of the “mad scientist” or the “crazy genius” in a dank laboratory. Such foolishness is unbefitting of those who hold a professional station and is indicative of one who craves fame and attention over virtue and substance; these are the sophists of the scientific realm.

The full implications of BCS theory will be explored for decades into the future, and there is no improvement or replacement in sight for the transistor. Many future generations will yet be influenced by the magnitude of Bardeen’s works.

I had once mentioned the potential rift between physics and engineering as possibly reminiscent of the millennia-old dispute between philosophy and rhetoric. Upon examining the life of this eminent scientist, what conclusions can we draw? What greater example could we obtain of a single being that delved deeply into the mechanisms of the universe, and then armed with that knowledge, wrought goods of great and practical significance to the world at large? Proponents of the dichotomy, take heed. Apply your furious efforts elsewhere, advocate disunity no longer, and all will benefit from your abandonment. Truth, the ideal, sublimity; such things are achievable only when all matters come together as a whole. Let the Paragon of John Bardeen remain a testament to the transcendence of this splendid harmony.