Marvin D. Girardeau (3 October 1930 – 13 January 2015)[1][2] was a quantum physicist, and a faculty member in the Institute for Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon, where he was hired as a professor in 1963 and worked until his retirement in 2000, after which he became a research professor at the University of Arizona.
He was a mathematical physicist with an unusual nonlinear career, which culminated in a remarkable impact in the ultracold atom physics community.
A Tonks–Girardeau gas was created in 2004, and its measured properties strikingly confirmed Girardeau's original predictions.
Girardeau was a fellow of the American Physical Society, and winner of the 1984 Humboldt Prize.
In 2013, Marvin was nominated for a prestigious Senior BEC Award by the European Community.