I grew up in San Francisco, where I attended public schools. For college I went across the Bay to the University of California at Berkeley, and stayed for my PhD. After postdoctoral years in Groningen, the Netherlands, and at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, I returned to Berkeley to join the faculty jointly in Physics and Biophysics. Four years later I moved east to the newly established NEC Research Institute, and then to Princeton in 2001. Along the way I have held a number of visiting positions, most recently at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where I helped to launch the Initiative for the Theoretical Sciences.
I have been incredibly fortunate to have wonderful scientific collaborations, and to have worked with an extraordinary stream of younger colleagues.
About
I had the honor of speaking in the Living Histories series from the American Physical Society’s Division of Biological Physics; these are short autobiographical pieces (with Q&A) from many members of our community. A much longer version is part of the American Institute of Physics Oral History Project. More formally, you can look at full curriculum vitae in short and long forms.
What People Say
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
Walt Disney
It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
J. K. Rowling
Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.
Dr. Seuss
William (Bill) Bialek 