Carlo Beenakker
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Carlo Beenakker | |
|---|---|
 Carlo Beenakker at Leiden University in April 2007 | |
| Born | 9 June 1960 |
| Alma mater | Leiden University |
| Father | Jan Beenakker |
| Awards | Spinoza Prize (1999) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Theoretical physics, quantum science, nanoscience |
| Thesis | On transport properties of concentrated suspensions (1984) |
| Doctoral advisor | Peter Mazur |
| Website | www |
Carlo Willem Joannes Beenakker (born 9 June 1960) is a professor at Leiden University and leader of the university's mesoscopic physics group, established in 1992.
Born in Leiden as the son of physicists Jan Beenakker and Elena Manaresi,[1][2] Beenakker graduated from Leiden University in 1982 and obtained his doctorate two years later.[3]
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[4] 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.[3]
Work
His work in mesoscopic physics addresses fundamental physical problems that occur when a macroscopic object is miniaturized to dimensions on the nanoscale.[5][6] Quantum mechanical effects then play a decisive role, as demonstrated in the quantum point contact (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, originally developed in the context of nuclear physics.[7] Discoveries by Beenakker and colleagues include the one-third suppression of shot noise in metallic conductors and specular Andreev reflection in graphene.[8][9]
