David K. Campbell

Science Board Fellow




Professor David K. Campbell received his bachelor's degree in physics and chemistry from Harvard College in 1966, Part III Mathematics Tripos, with distinction, from Cambridge University in 1967, and his Ph.D. in theoretical physics and applied mathematics from Cambridge in 1970. He has pioneered the systematic study of inherently nonlinear phenomena throughout physics. The central theme of his work is the role of nonlinear excitations--solitons--in novel states of matter. His contributions span many distinct subfields of physics from high-energy field theory to condensed matter. Professor Campbell is a leader in the emerging field of nonlinear science. His influential overview articles and his direction of the flag-ship journal, Chaos, of which he was the founding editor, have established key interdisciplinary organizing principles--the paradigms of solitons, chaos, and patterns--and have played a seminal role in defining the research agenda in nonlinear science.