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Walter Kohn was a physicist and chemist born in Vienna on March 9, 1923. He held citizenship in Austria, the United States, and Canada. Kohn is best known for his work in developing Density functional theory, which revolutionized computational chemistry.
Kohn studied at the University of Toronto and additionally received education from Harvard University. His doctoral advisor was Julian Schwinger. Through the course of his academic career, Kohn was a mentor to doctoral students such as Joseph Rudnick and Michael Geller.
Throughout his life, Walter Kohn made significant contributions in various fields of physics and chemistry. As a result of these achievements, Kohn received numerous awards and honors. Some of his most notable awards include the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the National Medal of Science, and the 1961 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize.
Kohn passed away on April 19, 2016 in Santa Barbara, California.
