Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the South ...

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Handy, C.R. (2014). A Perspective on Physics in Cuba. In: Baracca, A., Renn, J., Wendt, H. (eds) The History of Physics in Cuba. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, vol 304. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8041-4_30 His mother, Leonor Maria Cartaya was born in 1916 in

Matanzas, Cuba Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

. She received a doctorate in education and worked as a teacher. In 1947, she moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in the United States. Handy's father, William Christopher Handy, Jr., was born in 1904 in

Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19t ...

. His father, and Carlos Handy's paternal grandfather, was W.C. Handy, widely recognized as the "Father of the Blues." He also has a twin sister. Handy's parents met in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and married in the 1940s.

Education

Handy was raised between in New York City and Cuba, and attended schools in Cuba for the first eight years of his life. He later attended Public School 165, Booker T. Washington Junior High School, and George Washington High School in Manhattan. He went on to attend

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

beginning in 1968, and graduated with a bachelor's in physics and a minor in mathematics in 1972. Handy completed his doctoral education at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and earned a master's degree in physics in 1975, and a PhD degree in theoretical physics in 1978. His doctoral thesis at Columbia was titled "''The Diagrammatics of gauge transformations for general gauage theories''." While at Columbia, he also worked at IBM’s

Thomas J. Watson Research Center The Thomas J. Watson Research Center is the headquarters for IBM Research. Its main laboratory is in Yorktown Heights, New York, 38 miles (61 km) north of New York City. It also operates facilities in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Albany, ...

, collaborating with

Martin Gutzwiller Martin Charles Gutzwiller (12 October 1925 – 3 March 2014) was a Swiss-American physicist, known for his work on field theory, quantum chaos, and complex systems. He spent most of his career at IBM Research, and was also an adjunct prof ...

, and was also one of the first recipients of the

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey, the compa ...

Cooperative Research Fellowship in 1972. He also studied with A. Mueller and John Klauder.

Career

Following graduation, Handy was hired as a postdoctoral research associate as

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...

, where he worked from 1978 to 1981 on the moment problem in mathematics. In 1983, he was hired as an associate professor of physics at

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the South ...

. With funding from the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

, while at Clark Atlanta, he helped establish the Center for Theoretical Studies of Physical Systems, of which he served as co-director. He remained on the faculty of Clark Atlanta from 1983 to 2005. In 2005, Handy left Clark Atlanta to become the first chair of the physics program at

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

. He served as its chairman until 2016. He has served in various professional societies and leadership positions, including on the Committee on Minorities 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 the

National Society of Black Physicists The National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP), established in the United States in 1977, is a non-profit professional organization with the goal to promote the professional well-being of African Diaspora physicists and physics students within the ...

. He has also held visiting appointments at

CEA Paris-Saclay The CEA Paris-Saclay center is one of nine centers belonging to the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Following a reorganization in 2017, the center consists of multiple sites, including the CEA Saclay site (formerly a ...

,

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1943, the laboratory is sponsored by the United Sta ...

, and the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

. Handy is also president and CEO of the Handy Brothers Music Company, which aims to preserve to legacy of W.C. Handy's life and work.

Personal life

Handy met his wife in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

while working at the

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...

, and they married in 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Handy, Carlos Clark Atlanta University faculty Texas Southern University faculty Columbia University alumni Cuban physicists Hispanic and Latino American physicists 1950 births African-American physicists George Washington Educational Campus alumni Living people

Early life and family

Education

Career

Personal life

References