J. Georg Bednorz Biography

J. Georg Bednorz is a German physicist who won a share of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics. In collaboration with Swiss physicist, K. Alex Müller, he performed significant work in high-temperature superconductivity in ceramic materials. The son of teachers, he developed an early interest in tinkering with motorcycles and cars. As a teenager, he honed his artistic side and started playing the violin and later the trumpet in the school orchestra. He was also interested in science, and being practical minded, he found performing chemistry experiments to be more interesting than studying the theoretical aspects of physics. He enrolled at the University of Münster to study chemistry but soon shifted to the less popular field of crystallography, a subfield of mineralogy. In 1972, his teachers arranged for him to join the IBM Zürich Research Laboratory for three months as a summer student. It was during this time that he met his future collaborator K. Alex Müller. After completing his graduation and later doctorate, Bednorz joined Müller's ongoing research on superconductivity at the IBM. Their collaboration led to major findings in the field and the duo jointly discovered superconductivity in ceramic materials at temperatures higher than had previously been thought attainable, a work which earned them the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics.