Marvin Cohen

“It seemed to me that a theoretical physicist could have a bigger impact in condensed matter because there was more data and a bigger need for theory.”

“We were able to predict the properties of materials before they were made. This was a new paradigm for materials science.”

“Theory is a tool to understand the world, to make predictions, and to guide experiments.”

“You look at the data, you try to build a simple model, and if it works, you’re happy. Then you try to explain why it works.”

“It was a very exciting time because new data was coming out every day.”