AMindOverMatterisabiographyoftheNobel-prizewinnerPhilipW.Anderson,apersonwidelyregardedasoneofthemostaccomplishedandinfluentialphysicistsofthesecondhalfofthetwentiethcentury.Anderson(1923-2020)wasatheoreticianwhospecializedinthephysicsofmatter,includingwindowglassandmetals,magnetsandsemiconductors,liquidcrystalsandsuperconductors.Morethananyothersingleperson,Andersontransformedthepatchworksubjectofsolid-statephysicsintothedeep,subtle,andcoherentdisciplineknowntodayascondensedmatterphysics.Amonghismanyworld-classresearchachievements,AndersondiscoveredanaspectofwavephysicsthathadbeenmissedbyallpreviousscientistsgoingbacktoIsaacNewton.HebecameapublicfigurewhenhetestifiedbeforeCongresstoopposeitsfundingofanexpensiveprojectintendedexclusivelyforparticlephysicsresearch.Overtheyears,hepublishedmanyarticlesdesignedtoinfluenceabroadaudienceaboutissueswherescienceimpactedpublicpolicyandculture.AndersongrewupintheAmericanmid-west,waseducatedatHarvard,androsetothepinnacleofhisprofessionduringthefirstdecadeofhisthirty-fivecareerasatheoreticalphysicistatBellTelephoneLaboratories.Almostuniquely,hespentmanyyearsworkinghalf-timeasaprofessorattheUniversityofCambridgeandatPrincetonUniversity.TheoutspokenAndersonenjoyedbroadinfluenceoutsideofphysicswhenhehelpeddevelopandchampiontheconceptsofemergenceandcomplexityasorganizingprinciplestohelpattackverydifficultproblemsintechnicallychallengingdisciplines.
