Steven R. White

Biography

Steven R. White is a Distinguished Professor of Physics at the University of California, Irvine. He completed his B.A. in Physics, Mathematics, and Economics at the University of California, San Diego in 1982, graduating summa cum laude. He then earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University in 1988, where he focused on new methods for electronic structure calculations. White began his professional career as a research assistant at UCSD before moving to Cornell as an NSF Fellow and graduate research assistant. Following his postdoctoral work, he joined UCI in 1989 as an Assistant Professor, progressing to his current title in 2018.

White's research is centered on computational physics, particularly the development and application of the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method to quantum many-body systems. He is recognized for his extensive contributions to the understanding of complex quantum systems, including the Hubbard model and quantum spin systems. Over the years, he has authored numerous influential papers, some of which have been highlighted by journals such as Science and Physical Review Letters. His work has earned him several prestigious awards, including the Rahman Prize in Computational Physics from the American Physical Society and election to the National Academy of Sciences.

At UCI, White is actively involved in teaching both undergraduate and graduate-level physics courses, with a focus on quantum mechanics and computational methods. He has mentored many graduate students, guiding them in research that often leads to careers in academia and industry. In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, White contributes to the physics community through various service roles, including serving as a councillor for the Division of Computational Physics of the American Physical Society and participating in editorial duties for prominent physics journals.

Degrees

• BA in Physics, Mathematics, and Economics, University of California, San Diego, 1982
• PhD in Physics, Cornell University, 1988

Distinctions

• Fellow, American Physical Society, 1999
• Councillor, Division of Computational Physics, APS, 2000
• Rahman Prize in Computational Physics, American Physical Society, 2003
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2008
• Physical Review Letters Milestone Paper of 1992, 2008
• Perimeter Institute Distinguished Visiting Research Chair, 2012
• Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2016
• Member, National Academy of Sciences, 2018
• Feenberg Memorial Medal, 2019