Rate My Professor M. Brian Maple

M. Brian Maple is a Distinguished Professor and holder of the Bernd T. Matthias Endowed Chair in the Department of Physics at the University of California, San Diego. A first-generation college graduate, he received B.S. (physics) and A.B. (mathematics) degrees from San Diego State University in 1963, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from UC San Diego in 1965 and 1969, respectively. Throughout his career, all academic appointments have been in UCSD's Physics Department, including service as Chair (2004-2010 and 2019-2022), Director of the Center for Interface and Materials Science (1990-2010), and Director of the Institute for Pure and Applied Physical Sciences (1995-2009). He has held visiting professorships and research positions at the University of Chile, Instituto de Fisica Jose Balseiro in Argentina, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and University of Karlsruhe in Germany. Although retired, he remains an active researcher directing the Maple Group laboratory.

In Physics, Maple specializes in emergent phenomena in strongly correlated d- and f-electron quantum materials under extreme conditions of low temperature, high pressure, and high magnetic field. His investigations cover high-temperature and unconventional superconductivity, heavy fermion behavior, valence fluctuations, quantum criticality, quantum spin liquids, topological insulators, and exotic magnetism. Research in his lab involves materials synthesis, single crystal growth, and measurements of transport, thermal, and magnetic properties. He served as Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the American Physical Society's Division of Condensed Matter Physics in 1987 and 1988, respectively, and chaired the landmark 'Woodstock of Physics' session on high-temperature superconductivity at the 1987 APS March Meeting. Maple is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (2004) and American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2025), and a Fellow of the APS and AAAS. Major awards include the APS David Adler Lectureship (1996), James C. McGroddy Prize (2000), Bernd T. Matthias Prize (2000), Alexander von Humboldt Research Award (1998), John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (1984), Frank H. Spedding Award (1999), and Excellence in Teaching Award from Revelle College, UCSD (1983). Ranked among the world's most highly cited researchers in physical sciences (1990-1996 and 2000), he has over 47,000 citations and an h-index of 103. He has edited or co-edited 14 volumes and served on numerous advisory committees.