Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Illinois professor elected to National Academy of Sciences

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Nigel Goldenfeld has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences. Goldenfeld is the Swanlund Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois.

Goldenfeld is among 72 new members and 18 foreign associates announced by the academy on April 27. Election to the NAS is one of the highest professional honors a scientist can garner.

The 2,097 members and 409 foreign associates are an elite group distinguished by their outstanding contributions to the fields of science and technology.

Goldenfeld, also affiliated with the Institute for Genomic Biology, is an esteemed condensed matter physicist who has expanded his interests to biophysics in recent years. He focuses on two main areas of theory: dynamics and pattern formation, or how patterns evolve in time, and emergent states of matter, from superconductivity to the emergence of life.

He co-founded a software company, NumeriX, in 1996. NumeriX is an award-winning analytics software for derivatives and structured products.

Goldenfeld earned his doctorate in physics in 1982 at the University of Cambridge, England. He joined the faculty at the U. of I. in 1985. He also is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Physical Society, and he has been an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellow.

Editor’s note: To contact Nigel Goldenfeld, call 217-333-8027; e-mail: nigel@illinois.edu.



This article was imported from a previous version of the News Bureau website. Please email news@illinois.edu to report missing photos and/or photo credits.

Read Next

Earth and Environmental Sciences Researcher portrait standing in front of graphics from study

Researchers advance first-of-its-kind AI tool for translating life-saving weather warnings across the US

A new study led by Joseph Trujillo-Falcón documents how artificial intelligence is used to translate life-saving weather forecasts and alerts into non-English languages.

Arts Photo of a group of violinists from Apollo's Fire standing and playing onstage.

Krannert Center announces performers for 2026-27 season

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts’ 2026-27 season features a variety of performers, including jazz and classical music, theater and dance.

Life Sciences Research News Veterinary Medicine Photo of researchers in the laboratory. They are standing in front of dozens of fish tanks.

One simple trick makes zebrafish a better model for microbiome research

A new advance in animal husbandry involving a popular aquarium fish should speed the pace of microbiome research, scientists report.

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010