Thomas F. Rosenbaum

Administrative Oversight Committee, Chair
Provost of the University; John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor in the James Franck Institute and the College

Thomas F. Rosenbaum is an expert on the quantum mechanical nature of materials—the physics of electronic, magnetic and optical materials at the atomic level—that are best observed at temperatures near absolute zero (minus 460 degrees Fahrenheit). In a recent project, Rosenbaum and his associates showed how quantum mechanics, which dominates the microscopic world, under certain conditions also can manifest itself on the macroscopic scale. The demonstration is one in a long series of steps toward quantum computers, which would be faster and more powerful than today’s digital computers. Rosenbaum served as vice president for research and for Argonne National Laboratory from 2002 to 2006.