Mark Bowick

{{Infobox scientist | name = Mark Bowick | image = File:Bowick, Mark DSCF703 By Ram Seshadri 2019.jpg | caption = Bowick in 2018 | birth_name = Mark John Bowick | birth_date = 1957 | birth_place = Rotorua, New Zealand | citizenship = U.S. and New Zealand | nationality = | fields = | workplaces = University of California, Santa Barbara Syracuse University MIT Yale University | education = University of Canterbury (BSc) Caltech (MSc, PhD) | thesis_title = Radiative Mass Structure in Unified Models and Fermions in the Desert | thesis_url = https://thesis.library.caltech.edu/11206/ | thesis_year = 1983 | doctoral_advisor = Pierre Ramond | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = Condensed Matter Theory and High Energy Theoretical Physics | influences = | influenced = | awards = Gravity Research Foundation Essay Competition (1986) APS Fellow (2004) AAAS Fellow (2022) | signature = | spouse = | website = {{URL|https://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/bowick}} }}

'''Mark John Bowick''' (born 1957) is a theoretical physicist in condensed matter theory and high energy physics. He is the deputy director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Distinguished Professor of Physics in UCSB's Physics Department.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=KITP / Mark Bowick|url=https://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/bowick|website=}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=|first=|title=UCSB Physics Department|date=2019-01-05|url=https://physics.ucsb.edu/people/mark-bowick|work=Wikipedia|volume=|pages=|language=en|access-date=2021-01-12}}</ref>

== Early life and education == Bowick was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, and earned his bachelor's degree, B.Sc. (Hons.), at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barrett |first1=Michelle |title=Saturday Morning Physics to explore structures of nature on Oct. 23 |url=https://news.syr.edu/blog/2004/10/21/saturday-morning-physics-to-explorestructures-of-nature-on-oct-23/ |access-date=31 March 2021 |publisher=Syracuse University |date=1983 |language=en}}</ref> In 1983, he received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the California Institute of Technology, where he held an Earle C. Anthony Graduate Fellowship.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bowick |first1=Mark John |title=Radiative Mass Structure in Unified Models and Fermions in the Desert |url=https://thesis.library.caltech.edu/11206/ |access-date=26 February 2021 |publisher=California Institute of Technology |date=1983 |language=en}}</ref>

== Professional career == Bowick then spent three years at Yale University as the research associate of their Sloane Physics Lab's "Particle Theory Group,"<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Physical Review Letters | title=Superstrings at High Temperature | year=1985 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.54.2485| last1=Bowick | first1=Mark J. | last2=Wijewardhana | first2=L. C. R. | volume=54 | issue=23 | pages=2485–2488 | pmid=10031355 | bibcode=1985PhRvL..54.2485B }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|journal=High Energy Physics | title=Proceedings of the Yale Theoretical Advanced Study Institute |doi=10.1142/9789814542425}}</ref> followed by a two-year postdoctoral position at the Center for Theoretical Physics, at MIT.<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Nuclear Physics B | title=The holomorphic geometry of closed bosonic string theory and Diff S1/S1| year=1987|volume=293 | doi=10.1016/0550-3213(87)90076-9| last1=Bowick| first1=M.J.| last2=Rajeev| first2=S.G.| pages=348–384| bibcode=1987NuPhB.293..348B}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Nuclear Physics B | title=Anomalies as curvature in complex geometry| year=1988|doi=10.1016/0550-3213(88)90408-7| last1=Bowick| first1=M.J.| last2=Rajeev| first2=S.G.| volume=296| issue=4| pages=1007–1033| bibcode=1988NuPhB.296.1007B}}</ref>

He was awarded first prize in the 1986 Gravity Research Foundation Essay Competition.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Gravity Research Foundation|url=https://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org/year|access-date=2021-01-13|website=Gravity Research Foundation|language=en-US}}</ref> In 1987, he joined the faculty of the physics department at Syracuse University,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mark Bowick|url=https://thecollege.syr.edu/people/faculty/bowick-mark/|access-date=2021-01-12|website=College of Arts & Sciences at Syracuse University|language=en-us}}</ref> where he was granted an Outstanding Junior Investigator award, from the United States Department of Energy, for the years 1987 to 1994.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=2010-07-07|title=Prior Year HEP Early Career Awar... U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)|url=https://science.osti.gov/hep/Funding-Opportunities/Early-Career-Research-Opportunities/Prior-Year-HEP-Early-Career-Awardees|access-date=2021-01-13|website=science.osti.gov|language=en-US}}</ref> At Syracuse, Bowick served as assistant and associate professor from 1987 to 1998, was promoted to full professor of physics in 1998, and went on to become director of the Soft Matter Program from 2011 to 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lissner|first=Michelle|title=Soft & Living Matter: SLM@SU|url=https://soft-living-matter.syr.edu/|access-date=2021-01-13|language=en-US}}</ref>

In August 2016, the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, invited Bowick to join as deputy director and visiting distinguished professor of physics.<ref name=":0" />

== Research == Bowick's research interests include symmetry breaking,<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Physical Review D | title=Spontaneous chiral-symmetry breaking in three-dimensional QED | year=1986 |volume=33|doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.33.3704| last1=Appelquist | first1=Thomas W. | last2=Bowick | first2=Mark | last3=Karabali | first3=Dimitra | last4=Wijewardhana | first4=L. C. R. | issue=12 | pages=3704–3713 | pmid=9956603 | bibcode=1986PhRvD..33.3704A }}</ref> the interplay of order and geometry,<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Physical Review B | title=Interacting topological defects on frozen topographies | year=2000 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.62.8738|arxiv=cond-mat/9911379 | last1=Bowick | first1=Mark J. | last2=Nelson | first2=David R. | last3=Travesset | first3=Alex | volume=62 | issue=13 | pages=8738–8751 | bibcode=2000PhRvB..62.8738B | s2cid=11547273 }}</ref> topological defects,<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Physical Review Letters | title=Defect Annihilation and Proliferation in Active Nematics| year=2013|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.228101|doi-access=free| last1=Giomi| first1=Luca| last2=Bowick| first2=Mark J.| last3=Ma| first3=Xu| last4=Marchetti| first4=M. Cristina| volume=110| issue=22| article-number=228101| pmid=23767749| arxiv=1303.4720| bibcode=2013PhRvL.110v8101G}}</ref> building blocks for supramolecular self-assembly,<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=The European Physical Journal E| title= Topology and ground-state degeneracy of tetrahedral smectic vesicles | year= 2018 |doi=10.1140/epje/i2018-11755-y|arxiv=1807.05988| last1= Serafin | first1= Francesco | last2= Bowick | first2= Mark J. | last3= Nagel | first3= Sidney R. | volume= 41 | issue= 12 | page= 143 | pmid= 30552497 | s2cid= 54630993 }}</ref> membrane statistical mechanics,<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Nature Communications| title= Thermal crumpling of perforated two-dimensional sheets | year= 2017 |doi=10.1038/s41467-017-01551-y|doi-access=free| last1= Yllanes | first1= David | last2= Bhabesh | first2= Sourav S. | last3= Nelson | first3= David R. | last4= Bowick | first4= Mark J. | volume= 8 | issue= 1 | page= 1381 | pmid= 29123095 | pmc= 5680302 | arxiv= 1705.07379 | bibcode= 2017NatCo...8.1381Y }}</ref> shaped structures,<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America| title= Morphology of nematic and smectic vesicles | year= 2012 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1115684109|pmc=3325697 |doi-access=free| last1= Xing | first1= Xiangjun | last2= Shin | first2= Homin | last3= Bowick | first3= Mark J. | last4= Yao | first4= Zhenwei | last5= Jia | first5= Lin | last6= Li | first6= Min-Hui | volume= 109 | issue= 14 | pages= 5202–5206 | pmid= 22431595 | arxiv= 1108.4763 | bibcode= 2012PNAS..109.5202X }}</ref> and common themes in condensed matter and particle physics.<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Science| title= The Cosmological Kibble Mechanism in the Laboratory: String Formation in Liquid Crystals | year= 1994 |doi=10.1126/science.263.5149.943|arxiv=hep-ph/9208233| last1= Bowick | first1= Mark J. | last2= Chandar | first2= L. | last3= Schiff | first3= E. A. | last4= Srivastava | first4= Ajit M. | volume= 263 | issue= 5149 | pages= 943–945 | pmid= 17758635 | bibcode= 1994Sci...263..943B | s2cid= 14074732 }}</ref>

Since 2002, his career has been split between high-energy physics and condensed matter physics, with ongoing research support by the National Science Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mark Bowick at NSF|url=https://search.nsf.gov/search?query=mark+bowick&affiliate=nsf&search=|access-date=2021-01-31|website=nsf.gov/}}</ref>

== Honors and awards == * First prize in the Gravity Research Foundation Essay Competition (1986)<ref name=":1" /> * Outstanding Junior Investigator, United States Department of Energy (1987–1994)<ref name=":2" /> * Fellow of the American Physical Society, Division of Condensed Matter Physics (elected 2004)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Byrnes |first1=Edward |title=SU's Bowick elected to fellowship in American Physical Society |url=https://news.syr.edu/blog/2004/12/01/sus-bowick-elected-to-fellowshipin-american-physical-society/ |access-date=20 March 2022 |work=Syracuse University News |date=1 December 2004}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=APS Fellow Archive|url=http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm|access-date=2021-01-21|website=www.aps.org|language=en}}</ref> * Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (elected 2022).<ref>{{cite press release |title=2022 AAAS Fellows |url=https://www.aaas.org/page/2022-fellows-0 |access-date=1 February 2023 |work=American Association for the Advancement of Science |date=October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

Syracuse honored Bowick with two commendations:<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mark Bowick profile|url=https://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/bowick|access-date=2021-01-21|website=Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics|language=en}}</ref> the Chancellor's Citation for Exceptional Academic Achievement in 2006,<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=University Archives {{!}} Syracuse University Libraries|url=https://library.syr.edu/skin/?url=http://archives.syr.edu/awards/chan_citation.html&_ga=2.9886262.281292985.1519059457-1646475380.1486743337|access-date=2021-01-13|website=library.syr.edu}}</ref> and the William Wasserstrom Prize for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Advising in 2009.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=William Wasserstrom Prize – Graduate – Syracuse University|url=https://graduateschool.syr.edu/about/awards/william-wasserstrom-prize/|access-date=2021-01-13|website=graduateschool.syr.edu}}</ref> He was also named the Joel Dorman Steele Professor of Physics in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Enslin |first1=Rob |title=SU's Mark Bowick to Be Honored as New Steele Professor Oct. 31 |url=https://news.syr.edu/blog/2013/10/18/sus-mark-bowick-to-be-honored-as-new-steele-professor-oct-31-82904/ |access-date=25 February 2021 |work=SU News |publisher=Syracuse University |date=18 October 2013}}</ref>

==Personal life== Bowick is married to theoretical physicist M. Cristina Marchetti. They have two adult children.

In 2016, while director of Syracuse University's Soft Matter Program, Bowick commissioned composer Andrew Waggoner to write music for their Active And Smart Matter Conference: A New Frontier for Science & Engineering.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2016 Active and Smart Matter|url=https://activematter2016.syr.edu/|access-date=2021-01-13|language=en-US}}</ref> The world premiere of this eclectic composition, entitled ''Hexacorda Mollia'', was performed by the JACK Quartet on June 22, 2016.<ref>{{Citation|title=Hexacorda Mollia by Andrew Waggoner - A Unique Commission|url=https://www.facebook.com/bowman.media.company/videos/hexacorda-mollia-by-andrew-waggoner-a-unique-commission/1065134410240716/|language=en|access-date=2021-01-13}}</ref>

== Selected publications == * Bowick, MJ and LCR Wijewardhana, [https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.54.2485 Superstrings at High Temperature], Physical Review Letters '''54''' (23), 2485 (1985). * Bowick, MJ, and TW Appelquist, D Karabali, LCR Wijewardhana, [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=mj9wWSwAAAAJ&hl=en#d=gs_md_cita-d&u=%2Fcitations%3Fview_op%3Dview_citation%26hl%3Den%26user%3Dmj9wWSwAAAAJ%26citation_for_view%3Dmj9wWSwAAAAJ%3Au5HHmVD_uO8C%26tzom%3D480 Spontaneous chiral-symmetry breaking in three-dimensional QED], Physical Review D '''33''' (12), 3704 (1986). * Bowick, MJ, and L Chandar, EA Schiff, AM Srivastava, [https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.263.5149.943 The Cosmological Kibble Mechanism in the Laboratory – String Formation in Liquid-Crystals], Science '''263''' (5149), 943–944 (1994). * Bowick, MJ and A Travesset, [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0370157300001289 The statistical mechanics of membranes], Physics Reports '''344''' (4-6), 255–308 (2001). * Bowick, MJ, and AR Bausch, A Cacciuto, AD Dinsmore, MF Hsu, DR Nelson, ... [https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1081160 Grain boundary scars and spherical crystallography], Science '''299''' (5613), 1716–1718 (2003). * Bowick, MJ and L Giomi, [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00018730903043166 Two-Dimensional Matter: Order, Curvature and Defects], Advances in Physics '''58''' (5), 449–563 (2009). * Bowick MJ, and L Giomi, X Ma, MC Marchetti, [https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=mj9wWSwAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate#d=gs_md_cita-d&u=%2Fcitations%3Fview_op%3Dview_citation%26hl%3Den%26user%3Dmj9wWSwAAAAJ%26cstart%3D20%26pagesize%3D80%26sortby%3Dpubdate%26citation_for_view%3Dmj9wWSwAAAAJ%3AJV2RwH3_ST0C%26tzom%3D480 Defect annihilation and proliferation in active nematics], Physical Review Letters '''110''' (22), 228101 (2013). * Bowick, MJ, and FC Keber, E Loiseau, T Sanchez, SJ DeCamp, L Giomi, ... [https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1254784 Topology and dynamics of active nematic vesicles], Science '''345''' (6201), 1135–1139 (2014).

== References == {{reflist}}

== External links == *[https://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/bowick Group webpage] at Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics * [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=mj9wWSwAAAAJ&hl=en Mark Bowick on Google Scholar]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowick, Mark}} Category:1957 births Category:20th-century American physicists Category:21st-century American physicists Category:Living people Category:People from Rotorua Category:California Institute of Technology alumni Category:University of California, Santa Barbara faculty Category:American particle physicists Category:American theoretical physicists Category:Syracuse University faculty Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society Category:University of Canterbury alumni Category:Topological dynamics Category:American condensed matter physicists Category:Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Category:20th-century New Zealand physicists