Carlo Willem Joannes Beenakker (born 9 June 1960) is a professor at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

and leader of the university's

mesoscopic Mesoscopic physics is a subdiscipline of condensed matter physics that deals with materials of an intermediate size. These materials range in size between the nanoscale for a quantity of atoms (such as a molecule) and of materials measuring mic ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

group, established in 1992.

Education and career

Born in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

as the son of physicists

Jan Beenakker Joannes Joseph Maria Beenakker (February 1, 1926, in Koog aan de Zaan – July 23, 1998, in Leiden), more often known as Jan J. M. Beenakker or Jan Beenakker, was a Dutch physicist and the rector of the Leiden University. Education and career B ...

and Elena Manaresi, Beenakker graduated from Leiden University in 1982 and obtained his doctorate two years later. After the awarding of his doctorate, he then spent one year working in the United States of America as a fellow of the Niels Stensen Foundation before returning to the Netherlands as a member of the scientific staff of the Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven. He joined the Lorentz Institute for theoretical physics at Leiden University in 1991.

Work

His work in

mesoscopic physics Mesoscopic physics is a subdiscipline of condensed matter physics that deals with materials of an intermediate size. These materials range in size between the nanoscale for a quantity of atoms (such as a molecule) and of materials measuring mic ...

addresses fundamental physical problems that occur when a macroscopic object is miniaturized to dimensions on the nanoscale. Quantum mechanical effects then play a decisive role, as demonstrated in the

quantum point contact A quantum point contact (QPC) is a narrow constriction between two wide electrically conducting regions, of a width comparable to the electronic wavelength (nano- to micrometer). The importance of QPC lies in the fact that they prove quantisation o ...

(a narrow constriction with a quantized conductance). To understand the universal quantum mechanical properties of mesoscopic systems, Beenakker adapted methods from the theory of

random matrices In probability theory and mathematical physics, a random matrix is a matrix-valued random variable—that is, a matrix in which some or all of its entries are sampled randomly from a probability distribution. Random matrix theory (RMT) is the ...

, originally developed in the context of

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

. Discoveries by Beenakker and colleagues include the one-third suppression of

shot noise Shot noise or Poisson noise is a type of noise which can be modeled by a Poisson process. In electronics shot noise originates from the discrete nature of electric charge. Shot noise also occurs in photon counting in optical devices, where s ...

in metallic conductors and specular Andreev reflection in

graphene Graphene () is a carbon allotrope consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, honeycomb planar nanostructure. The name "graphene" is derived from "graphite" and the suffix -ene, indicating ...

Recognition

In 1993, he shared the Royal/Shell prize for "the discovery and explanation of quantum effects in the

electrical conduction Electrical resistivity (also called volume resistivity or specific electrical resistance) is a fundamental specific property of a material that measures its electrical resistance or how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity i ...

in mesoscopic systems". He was elected a member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities in 2001, and the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

in 2002. He was awarded one of the Netherlands' most prestigious science awards, the Spinozapremie, in 1999. In 2006 he was honored with the

AkzoNobel Akzo Nobel N.V., stylised as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational corporation, multinational company which creates paints and performance coatings for both industry and consumers worldwide. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities ...

Science Award "for his pioneering work in the field of

nanoscience Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...

". He was granted an honorary doctorate from the Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Beenakker is a

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS) is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected ...

and of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

and a Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

References

External links

Mesoscopic physics in Leiden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beenakker, Carlo 1960 births Living people 21st-century Dutch physicists Science teachers Leiden University alumni Academic staff of Leiden University Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Spinoza Prize winners Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science