Adventures in Superconductivity: a Career in Photos
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M. Brian Maple is a Distinguished Professor and holds the Bernd T. Matthias Endowed Chair in Physics at the University of California San Diego. He is also an alumnus who earned his doctorate in 1969, coming to the university when it was just beginning. Over the past six decades, he has helped push the boundaries of superconductivity and materials science; traveled the world to collaborate with other scientists; mentored numerous graduate students; and even found time to for a season or two of softball. Take a stroll through the career of a lifelong Triton.
Read the accompanying Q&A, "Adventures in Superconductivity: A Conversation with Brian Maple."
The photo above, taken in Maple's lab, shows a high-temperature furnace used to prepare single crystals of superconducting oxide compounds. The samples are contained in the vertical quartz tube in between the two gold-plated mirrors, which are used to focus light and melt the samples. (All photos courtesy of Brian Maple)
Maple studying in his apartment near San Diego State University (1962).
(l-r): Maple and his wife, Margaret, with professors Ana Celia Mota and William Black, preparing for a flight at Montgomery Field. Black was also the pilot! (1969)
The day after the "Woodstock of Physics," scientists – including Maple (2r) – held a press conference at the New York Hilton (1987).
In 1971, Maple traveled to South America as a visiting professor at the University of Chile.
Maple (r), dressed as a pirate, and Mota (l), as a witch, are ready for Halloween (1973).
Maple (r) and his mentor, Professor Bernd Matthias, at work in Maple's lab (1977). Today, Maple holds the Bernd T. Matthias Endowed Chair in Physics.
In the 1960s, you might have seen Maple riding his Triumph 650 TR-6 around Del Mar (1966).
Maple's lab competed on a recreational softball team named "Einstein's Relatives" (1980).
Maple's lab in Mayer Hall has been home to many scientific instruments, including this Faraday magnometer, used to meausre the magnetic properties of materials (1987).
Maple (c) has mentored numerous graduate students, including Inho Jeon (l) and Christian Wolowiec (r) (2017).
In 2019, the School of Physical Sciences hosted "Emergent Phenomena in Strongly Correlated Electron Systems: A Symposium Recognizing Professor M. Brian Maple and his 50-year Career at UC San Diego," affectionately known as "MapleFest." Here Maple (far right) poses with colleagues.
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