Daniel Fisher

Daniel Fisher received a BA from Cornell in 1975 and a PhD from Harvard in 1979. After a decade at Bell Labs, he joined the faculty at Princeton and subsequently at Harvard. Currently he is Professor of Applied Physics and, by courtesy, of Biology and of Bioengineering at Stanford.  Trained as a condensed matter theorist, Fisher's research has included lowdimensional systems, superconductivity, the effects of randomness on phase transitions and dynamics in disordered materials, and fracture and friction from laboratory scales to earthquakes.  In recent years he has focused on biology, mostly trying to develop a quantitative understanding of the dynamics of evolutionary processes, with forays into cellular biophysics.  Fisher has served on the boards of the Union of Concerned Scientists and Common Cause, and as chair of the National Security Subcommittee of the APS Panel on Public Affairs.  He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. For their joint work on spin glasses, David Huse and he received an Exceptional Contribution Award from AT&T Bell Laboratories.  Fisher also received the Lars Onsager Prize in 2013.