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Through Phase transition, Melting and Freezing
Education and early life
He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, to German-Jewish émigrés, the son of the pioneering biochemist Hans Walter Kosterlitz and Hannah Gresshöner. He was educated independently at Robert Gordon's College before transferring to the Edinburgh Academy to prepare for his university entrance examinations. He received his BA degree, subsequently converted to an MA degree, at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. In 1969, he earned a DPhil degree from the University of Oxford as a postgraduate student of Brasenose College, Oxford.
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Career and research
After a few postdoctoral positions, including positions at the University of Birmingham, collaborating with David Thouless, and at Cornell University, he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Birmingham in 1974, first as a lecturer and, later, as a reader. Since 1982, he has been professor of physics at Brown University. Kosterlitz was a visiting research fellow at Aalto University in Finland and since 2016 a distinguished professor at Korea Institute for Advanced Study.
Kosterlitz does research in condensed matter theory, one- and two-dimensional physics; in phase transitions: random systems, electron localization, and spin glasses; and in critical dynamics: melting and freezing.
Climbing
Kosterlitz was a pioneer in Alpine climbing in the 1960s, known for working routes in the UK, Italian Alps, and Yosemite. His notable ascents include the first ascent of Fessura Kosterlitz (graded f6B/6a+) in the Orco Valley of the Italian Alps, which was subsequently named after him, and the first repeat of American Direct (graded ED1 6c+) on the West Face of the Petit Dru in the Mont Blanc Massif. Kosterlitz is credited with initiating the Nuovo Mattino ("New Morning") movement of alpinism in the 1970s, where free, aid-less ascents made using new technologies (such as camming devices) became favoured.
Personal life
Kosterlitz is an American citizen and is an atheist. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1978.