Department(s): Physics

William H. Butler was appointed as the Director of the MINT Center in August 2001 and is a Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He also serves as director of the NSF-sponsored Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. He received a BS degree (with Highest Honor) in Physics from Auburn University in 1960 and a Ph.D. in physics in 1969 from the University of California San Diego where he studied under Nobelist Walter Kohn. From 1969 until 1972 he was Assistant Professor of Physics at Auburn University. He joined the Metals and Ceramics Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1972. He was leader of the Theory Group in the Metals and Ceramics Division of ORNL from 1984-2001. He has received DOE Awards for Outstanding Scientific Achievement and for Outstanding Sustained Research. He was the first recipient of the National Institute of Materials Science Award for Breakthroughs in Materials Science. He has authored more than 150 scholarly papers and is co-author of one book. He is member of the American Physical Society, the IEEE, the Materials Research Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society. He served as Meeting Chair for the Spring 1990 Meeting of the MRS and currently serves as Program Chair for the American Physical Society Topical Group on Magnetism and its Applications.

Dr. Butler’s current research interests include: physics of magnetic materials, spin-dependent transport in magnetic multilayers and nanostructures, electronic structure of magnetic oxides and chalcogenides, domain wall switched graded media, electronic structure of half-metals, and precessional damping in magnetic materials.

Contact Information

• Email: wbutler@mint.ua.edu
• Phone: 348-2665
• Fax: 348-2665
• Office: 1047 Bevill