Background
Philip Anderson was born on December 13, 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, in the family of Professor Harry Warren Anderson and Elsie Osborne Anderson. He grew up in Urbana, Illinois.
Philip Anderson was born on December 13, 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, in the family of Professor Harry Warren Anderson and Elsie Osborne Anderson. He grew up in Urbana, Illinois.
In 1943 Philip received Bachelor of Science (summa cum laude) at Harvard University, and then Master of Science in 1947 and Doctor of Philosophy in 1949.
From 1949 to 1984 Philip was employed by Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, where he worked on a wide variety of problems in condensed matter physics. During this period he developed what is now called Anderson localization. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1963.
From 1967 to 1975, Anderson was a professor of theoretical physics at Cambridge University. He retired from Bell Labs in 1984 and is currently Joseph Henry Professor of Physics, Emeritus at Princeton University.
In 1972 Philip wrote an article called "More is Different" in which he emphasized the limitations of reductionism and the existence of hierarchical levels of science.
On July 31, 1947 Philip married Joyce Gothwaite, with whom he has one daughter, Susan Osborne.