Department of Physics

Dick Hake conducted research in condensed matter physics and physics education at IU from 1970 to 1995.  He received his PhD from the University of Illinois in 1955, and did pioneering work on type-II superconductors in high magnetic fields while working for North American Aviation and North American Rockwell in California. His work in California included some early studies on the initial workhorse of high-field superconducting magnets NbTi. He brought his interest in high-field superconductivity to IU, and concentrated on the impact of disorder on superconductors. He setup Indiana’s first melt-spinner in the old glass shop in the basement of Swain to launch a research program in amorphous metals, with an emphasis on the transport properties of superconducting glasses in high fields.  These studies included early studies of fluctuation conductivity above Tc and the magneto-resistive signatures of Weak Localization. For the last decade of his time at IU, Dick threw himself into Physics Education Research, developing a Socratic-Dialog-Inducing approach to introductory teaching labs and becoming a nationally-recognized early champion for interactive engagement in physics instruction.