Adam Leibovich received his BA in Physics, magna cum laude, from Cornell University in 1992 and a PhD from the California Institute of Technology in 1997. From 1997-2000 he was a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University and from 2000-2002 a postdoctoral research fellow at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). During his time at Fermilab, he was a visiting postdoctoral fellow at MIT and a visiting postdoctoral fellow at CMU. In 2003 he joined the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh. He became the Department Chair in 2015, and Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development in 2017.
The research program of Leibovich spans a variety of areas in theoretical physics. Most of his research has centered on the strong and weak interactions of the Standard Model. In particular, he uses effective field theory techniques to study heavy quarks as a probe of these interactions, and to try to uncover physics beyond the Standard Model. Leibovich also researches gravitational waves, the physics of extra dimensions, matter at extreme densities, and the physics of dark matter. He has authored or co-authored over 60 publications that have received approximately 2800 citations.
Leibovich is also a passionate teacher, and has won the Cottrell Scholar Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement and the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Tina and David Bellet Teaching Excellence Award. He has worked nationally to improve STEM education, authoring articles focusing on undergraduate education. In July 2022, Leibovich was named director of the Pittsburgh Quantum Institute (PQI).