Sir Alfred Brian Pippard (7 September 1920 – 21 September 2008) was a British physicist. He was Cavendish Professor of Physics from 1971 to 1982, and an Honorary Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, of which he was the first president.

Biography Alfred Brian Pippard was born on 7 September 1920 in London, the son of engineer Alfred John Sutton Pippard. Pippard was educated at Clifton College,"Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p464: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948 before gaining a scholarship in 1937 to attend Clare College, Cambridge, where he graduated with First Class Honours in Part II of the Natural Sciences Tripos in 1941.

After working as a scientific officer in radar research during World War II, Pippard received his Ph.D. in 1947, and was subsequently appointed Demonstrator in Physics at the University of Cambridge. He successively became Lecturer in 1950, Reader in 1959, and the first John Humphrey Plummer Professor of Physics the following year. In 1971, he was elected Cavendish Professor of Physics.

As Cavendish Professor of Physics, Pippard compiled Cavendish Problems in Classical Physics,A.B. Pippard, Cavendish Problems in Classical Physics (Pamphlet) (Cambridge University Press, 1962).A.B. Pippard, Cavendish Problems in Classical Physics (Pamphlet), 64 p. (Cambridge University Press, 1971) based in large part on past examination questions for Cambridge physics students.

Pippard was the doctoral advisor of Brian Josephson (awarded Ph.D. in Physics in 1964) who in 1973 received the Nobel Prize in Physics (together with Leo Esaki and Ivar Giaever) for his discovery of what is known as the Josephson effect.

Research Pippard demonstrated the reality, as opposed to the mere abstract concept, of Fermi surfaces in metals by establishing the shape of the Fermi surface of copper through measuring the reflection and absorption of microwave electromagnetic radiation (see the anomalous skin effectN. W. Ashcroft, and N. D. Mermin, Solid State Physics (Thompson Learning, Inc., London, 1976), Chapter 14, Measuring the Fermi Surface, p. 277, Anomalous Skin Effect; . See Classical skin depth.). He also introduced the notion of coherence length in superconductors in his proposal for the non-local generalisation of the London equationsF. London, Superfluids, Vol. I: Macroscopic Theory of Superconductivity (Dover Publications, New York, 1961), p. 152. concerning electrodynamics in superfluids and superconductors. The non-local kernel proposed by Pippard, inferred on the basis of Chambers' non-local generalisation of Ohm's law) can be deduced within the framework of the BCS (Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer) theory of superconductivity (a comprehensive description of the details of the London–Pippard theory can be found in the book by Fetter and WaleckaA.L. Fetter, and J. D. Walecka, Quantum Theory of Many-Particle Systems (Dover Publications, New York, 2003), Chapter 13, Superconductivity, Section 49, London-Pippard Phenomenological Theory; ).

Pippard was the author of Elements of Classical Thermodynamics for Advanced Students of Physics,A. B. Pippard, Elements of Classical Thermodynamics for Advanced Students of Physics (Cambridge University Press, 1957); . Dynamics of Conduction Electrons,A. B. Pippard, Dynamics of Conduction Electrons, Documents on Modern Physics (Gordon & Beach, 1965). and The Physics of Vibration.A. B. Pippard, The Physics of Vibration (Cambridge University Press, 2007); He also co-authored the three-volumes encyclopaedia Twentieth Century Physics.Laurie M. Brown, Abraham Pais, and Brian Pippard, Twentieth Century Physics (Institute of Physics Publishing, 1995): Vol. I; , Vol. II; ; Vol. III;

Recognition Memberships Year Organisation Type 1956 Royal Society Fellow 1970 American Academy of Arts and Sciences International Honorary Member

Awards Year Organisation Award Citation 1959 Royal Society Hughes Medal "For his distinguished contributions in the field of low temperature physics." 1961 Fernand Holweck Medal and Prize — 1969 Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities Dannie Heineman Prize "For his work on the dynamics of conduction electrons in metals, in particular the measurement of the Fermi surface of copper and the non-local extension of London’s electrodynamics of the superconductor." 2005 NTNU Onsager Medal —

Chivalric titles Year Head of state Title 1975 Elizabeth II Knight Bachelor

References

Obituaries Anthony Tucker, Sir Brian Pippard, The Guardian, Wednesday, 25 September 2008, . John Waldram, Professor Sir Brian Pippard (1920–2008), News and Events, University Offices, University of Cambridge, 24 September 2008, . Professor Sir Brian Pippard (1920–2008), Cambridge Network, 25 September 2008, (Reproduced from University of Cambridge Office of Communications). John Waldram, Brian Pippard (1920–2008): Low-temperature physicist who excelled in subtle intuitive concepts, Nature 455, 1191 (30 October 2008), . Professor Sir Brian Pippard, Telegraph, 23 September 2008, . Professor Sir Brian Pippard: Cambridge physicist, The Times, 25 September 2008, . Richard Eden, Professor Sir Brian Pippard: Physicist who proved the existence of the Fermi surface and was the first President of Clare Hall, Cambridge, The Independent, Tuesday, 7 October 2008, . Hamish Johnston, Sir Brian Pippard: 1920–2008, PhysicsWorld, 24 September 2008, .

External links The Cavendish Professorship of Physics , Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Department of Physics. The Brian Pippard Building, Cambridge Professor George Zarnecki, Lives remembered: Professor George Zarnecki and Professor Sir Brian Pippard, The Times, 27 September 2008, . Professor Ernst Sondheimer, Professor Sir Brian Pippard, The Independent, Friday, 10 October 2008, . Professor Sir Brian Pippard, President of CUMS, 7 September 1920 – 21 September 2008, Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS) News, 25 September 2008, . Brian Pippard dies aged 88, Varsity, 2008, . Professor Pippard papers HF/LEEWW: 2000.611 2000, The National Archives, .Contents: Typewritten manuscript by Professor Sir Brian Pippard entitled 'Reminiscences of Wartime Radar Research 1941–1945', together with three papers published in The Journal of The Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1946. interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 31 March 2008 (video)