The Electronic Journal of Theoretical Physics has named David Mermin, the Horace White Professor of Physics Emeritus, "Best Person in Physics" for 2010.

Mermin, who joined the Cornell faculty in 1964, received the honor as a Majorana Medal winner from the journal, which gives three such awards annually that also include "Best Special Issue Paper" and "Best Paper."

He was chosen based on his "fundamental contributions on solid state physics, quantum field theory and statistical mechanics, especially Mermin-Wagner theorem and its remarkable applications. And for his promoting the scientific international interdisciplinary collaborations."

Trained in the theory of liquids, Mermin's academic interests have included solid-state physics, statistical physics, low-temperature physics, mathematical crystallography and quantum computation. He is the author of several books including "Solid State Physics," co-authored in 1976 with Neil Ashcroft and now a standard textbook.

The medals are named for Italian physicist Ettore Majorana who developed the Majorana equation.