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Cherry Murray
condensed matter physics
(recorded in 2004)
Listen or download interview (mp3, 62 minutes, 60MB)
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As the daughter of a diplomat, Cherry Murray spent much of her childhood moving; before she left for college, she and her family lived in the United States, Japan, Pakistan, Korea, and Indonesia. Although Murray studied art in her time overseas, a 10th grade chemistry class struck a chord in her -- the artistic idea of simple mathematical equations describing the world resonated with her background. She earned a B.A. and Ph.D. in physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and after interning at Bell Labs, went to work there full time in 1978. Murray is known for her study of light scattering and imaging and is a leader in the study of surface and condensed matter physics. She served as senior vice president for Bell Labs Research, Lucent Technologies, deputy director for science and technology at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and President of the American Physical Society before being named Dean of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Murray is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.
Last Updated: 08-26-2010
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The audio files linked above are part of the National Academy of Sciences InterViews series. Opinions and statements included in these audio files are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences.
