Jainendra K. Jain, an Indian-American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, is the Evan Pugh University Professor, Erwin W. Mueller Professor of

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 ...

, and Holder of Eberly Family Chair of

at the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. He received the Oliver E. Buckley Prize 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 ...

in 2002, was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 2021, and was selected Foreign Fellow of the

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three b ...

in 2024. He is also the co-recipient of 2025

Wolf Prize in Physics The Wolf Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine and Arts. The ...

along with James P. Eisenstein and Mordehai Heiblum. Jain is known for his theoretical work on quantum many body systems, most notably for postulating particles known as

composite fermion A composite fermion is the topological bound state of an electron and an even number of quantized vortices, sometimes visually pictured as the bound state of an electron and, attached, an even number of magnetic flux quanta. Composite fermions we ...

Biography

Jain received his primary, middle and high school education in a government school in the rural village of Sambhar,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, located at the eastern margin of Thar desert in India. He received bachelor's degree at

Maharaja College, Jaipur University Maharaja's College is a college in Jaipur, the capital of the Rajasthan state in India. Established in 1844 by Sawai Ram Singh II, it has been affiliated with University of Rajasthan since 1947. Maharaja college offers course on camp ...

, his master's degree in physics at

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT- Kanpur or IIT-K) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. As an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), it was declared an Institute of National Importance by ...

and PhD at the

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

, where he worked with Profs. Philip B. Allen and

Steven Kivelson Steven Allan Kivelson (born May 13, 1954) is an American theoretical physicist known for several major contributions to condensed matter physics. He is the Prabhu Goel Family Professor at Stanford University. Before joining Stanford in 2004, he w ...

. After post-doctoral positions at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

and the

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

he returned to the

as a faculty member in 1989. In 1998, he moved to the

. Jain is a quantum physicist in the field of

condensed matter theory Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases, that arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms and electrons. More gene ...

with interests in strongly interacting electronic systems in low dimensions. As the originator of the exotic particles called

composite fermions A composite fermion is the topological bound state of an electron and an even number of quantized vortices, sometimes visually pictured as the bound state of an electron and, attached, an even number of magnetic flux quanta. Composite fermions we ...

, he pioneered and developed the composite fermion theory of the

fractional quantum Hall effect The fractional quantum Hall effect (fractional QHE or FQHE) is the observation of precisely quantized plateaus in the Hall conductance of 2-dimensional (2D) electrons at fractional values of e^2/h, where ''e'' is the electron charge and ''h'' i ...

and unified the fractional and the integral quantum Hall effects. His writings include a monograph ''Composite Fermions'', published in 2007 by the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

. He co-edited with

Bertrand Halperin Bertrand I. Halperin (born December 6, 1941) is an American physicist, former holder of the Hollis Chair of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy at the physics department of Harvard University. In 2006, he received the Wolf Prize in Physics for hi ...

a book ''Fractional Quantum Hall Effects: New Developments,'' published in 2020 by

World Scientific World Scientific Publishing is an academic publisher of scientific, technical, and medical books and journals headquartered in Singapore. The company was founded in 1981. It publishes about 600 books annually, with more than 170 journals in var ...

. Because of injuries sustained in a childhood accident, Jain walks with the aid of a prosthesis. After being awarded the

, he recounted his journey as: “Looking back, it is hard to believe how incredibly fortunate I have been. Growing up in a poor village in India, traumatized by an accident that left me on crutches with a lifelong disability, I did not think I would ever walk again or attend college, let alone pursue my dream of becoming a physicist.” He credits Jaipur Foot with enabling him to continue education.

Honors

* Fellow,

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation is a private foundation formed in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Gr ...

, 1991. *Fellow,

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is an American philanthropic nonprofit organization. It was established in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan Jr., president and chief executive officer of General Motors. The Sloan Foundation makes grants to support origina ...

, 1997. *Fellow of the

, 1997. Citation: "''For the "Composite Fermion" theory of the fractional quantum Hall effect.''" *Appointed Erwin W. Mueller Professor of Physics,

, 1998. * Oliver E. Buckley Prize awarded by the

for a most important contribution to the advancement of knowledge in Condensed Matter Physics, 2002, along with Nicholas Read and Robert Willett. Citation: "''For theoretical and experimental work establishing the composite fermion model for the half-filled Landau level and other quantized Hall systems''" *Elected member of

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, 2008. Citation: "''Evan Pugh University Professor and Erwin W. Mueller Professor of Physics. Predicted that electrons in the factional quantum Hall effect regime capture quantized vortices to form new particles, which he named composite fermions. Subsequently observed, composite fermions brought clarity to the subject and spawned new lines of theoretical inquiries and elegant new experiments.''" *Distinguished Alumnus Award of

IIT Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT- Kanpur or IIT-K) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. As an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), it was declared an Institute of National Importance by th ...

, 2010. *Fellow,

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, 2011. *Appointed

Evan Pugh Evan Pugh (February 29, 1828 – April 29, 1864) was the first president of the Pennsylvania State University, serving from 1859 until his death in 1864. An agricultural chemist, he was responsible for securing Penn State's designation in 1863 a ...

University Professor, named after the first President of

, 2012. *Elected to

, 2021. *Appointed Holder of Eberly Family Chair,

, 2023. *Elected Foreign Fellow of the

, 2025. Citation: "''Prof Jain predicted a new class of exotic particles, which he named “composite fermions,” and explained the fractional quantum Hall effect as the integer quantum Hall effect of composite fermions. In doing so, he accomplished a unification of the fractional and the integer quantum Hall effects, two Nobel prize winning phenomena. His discovery of composite fermions is recognized as a singular and transformative development in the realm of condensed matter physics.''" *

, 2025 together with James P. Eisenstein and Mordehai Heiblum for "For advancing our understanding of the surprising properties of two-dimensional electron systems in strong magnetic fields".Wolf Prize in Physics 2025
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jain, Jainendra K. 20th-century Indian physicists Scientists from Rajasthan IIT Kanpur alumni Stony Brook University alumni Stony Brook University faculty Pennsylvania State University faculty American Jains Living people Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize winners American academics of Indian descent Fellows of the American Physical Society 1960 births Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Indian scholars