Carl M. Bender | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1943 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (M.A., Ph.D.) Cornell University (A.B.) |
| Known for | Bender–Dunne polynomials Non-Hermitian quantum mechanics PT symmetry |
| Awards | Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics (2017) Guggenheim Fellowship (2003) Fellows Award, Academy of Science, St. Louis (2002) Fulbright Fellowship (1995) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Washington University Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Doctoral advisor | Tai Tsun Wu Sidney Coleman |
| Doctoral students | Tom Banks |
Carl M. Bender (born 1943) is an American applied mathematician and mathematical physicist. He currently holds the Wilfred R. and Ann Lee Konneker Distinguished Professorship of Physics at Washington University in St. Louis.[1] He also has joint positions as professor of physics at the University of Heidelberg and as visiting professor of applied mathematics and mathematical physics at Imperial College, London.[1]
Bender achieved initial prominence in the sciences for his work on perturbative and nonperturbative methods in quantum field theory. At the turn of the millennium, Bender discovered the importance of parity-time (PT) symmetry in non-Hermitian quantum systems. His work influenced major advances in physics, particularly optics.[2][3][4]