American engineer and physicist. He is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice.

Bardeen's work on the transistor — his first Nobel Prize — revolutionized the electronics industry, making possible the development of almost every modern electronic device, from telephones to computers, and ushering in the Information Age.

Bardeen's developments in superconductivity — his second Nobel Prize — are used in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

When Bardeen was asked about his beliefs during a 1988 interview, he responded: "I am not a religious person, and so do not think about it very much". However, he has also said: "I feel that science cannot provide an answer to the ultimate questions about the meaning and purpose of life." Bardeen did believe in a code of moral values and behavior.

John Bardeen's children were taken to church by his wife, who taught Sunday school and was a church elder. Despite this, he and his wife made it clear that they did not have faith in an afterlife and other religious ideas.