David J. Griffiths is a U.S. physicist and educator. He has worked at Reed College since 1978, where he is currently the Howard Vollum Professor of Science.

Griffiths was trained at Harvard University (B.A., 1964; M.A., 1966; Ph.D., 1970). His doctoral work ("Covariant Approach to Massless Field Theory in the Radiation Gauge") on theoretical particle physics was supervised by Sidney Coleman. He is principally known as the author of three highly regarded textbooks for undergraduate physics students: Introduction to Elementary Particles (published in 1987), Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (published in 1995, second edition published 2004), and Introduction to Electrodynamics (third edition published in 1999). Introduction to Elementary Particles is virtually the only text used for undergraduate elementary particles courses. He was also the recipient of the Robert A. Millikan award for notable and creative contributions to the teaching of physics in 1997.

As a teacher, Griffiths is very approachable and informal, and known among his students for being available to answer questions at any time - even when teaching large introductory classes with over 100 students. He is known for making non-intuitive and complex fields seem simple and intuitive.

He has a mustache, and likes to wear jeans and plaid shirts.

External link

• Griffiths's web page

American physicists