John Preskill of
@Caltech
physics and
@IQIM_Caltech
remembers Wightman and Wheeler
@PrincetonPhys
, Weinberg and Coleman
@harvardphysics
, magnetic monopoles, the meaning of black hole information, Shor's Algorithm, and the origins of quantum computing
Ed Witten of
@the_IAS
describes his interest in
#quantuminformation
, the work of
@gthooft
in gauge theory and his entree to string theory, current algebra with Steve Weinberg, the origin of M-theory, and what it means to make peace with the
#multiverse
David Griffiths of
@Reed_College_
remembers growing up in college towns, mass-less field theory
@harvardphysics
, the November Revolution
@SLACLab
, the singularity of Sidney Coleman's lectures, and the dynamism of
#electrodynamics
in historical perspective
Alexei Kitaev of
@Caltech
physics and
@IQIM_Caltech
recalls childhood in Russia, college
@mipt_eng
, thesis research on quasicrystals, meeting
@preskill
and quantum information theory, and contributions in AdS/CFT, topological phases, and superconductivity
Matthew Fisher of
@UCSBPhysics
recalls life in a physics household, college
@CornellPhysics
, condensed matter with Tony Leggett
@PhysicsIllinois
, the singularity of Phil Anderson, research in high Tc, and exploring the brain as a quantum mechanical system
In her oral history,
@AstroKatie
of
@NCState
(soon to be
@Perimeter
), recounts her undergrad work at
@Caltech
, her research on axions and devotion to
#scicomm
, and she considers the idea of the universe as having a narrative arc with a beginning and end
The late Steve Weinberg of
@TexasScience
reflects on the historic distinctions and overlapping areas of astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology in his final oral history interview
Leonard Susskind recalls the Bronx, discovering physics
@CCNY
, Hans Bethe
@CornellPhysics
, appointment
@YUNews
, the Veneziano amplitude and
#stringtheory
, debating black holes with Stephen Hawking, and considering God's existence through quantum mechanics
Dave Wineland of
@uoregon
physics describes childhood in Sacramento, measuring the electron g-factor at
@PhysicsUwa
, the world-class instruments offered by
@NIST
, building atomic clocks, and what it was like to win the
@NobelPrize
Michael Peskin of
@SLAClab
recalls upbringing in PA, college
@harvardphysics
, quark confinement
@CornellPhysics
, writing about
#QFT
, the promise of the ILC, current work on electroweak symmetry, and the future impact of e+e- physics on the Standard Model
N. David Mermin of
@CornellPhysics
recalls childhood in CT, the Jordan Curve
@harvardphysics
, super-conductivity with Paul Martin, the origins of Boojum and delighting in obscure research, and relating quantum physics to the nature of scientific knowledge
Ad Bax, Section Chief of Chemical Physics at
@NIDDKgov
, recounts growing up on a farm in the Netherlands, he describes the history of NMR spectroscopy, its impact on understanding protein structure, and its broader value for health science research
Steve Girvin of
@Yale_QI
describes working with John Hopfield on optical fluorescence data from a semiconductor, his research at
@NIST
on neutron scattering and the quantum Hall effect, and what the future holds for
#quantuminformation
Carol Davis reflects on 50 years of administrative service to the Department of Physics
@Harvard
. Typing theses. Navigating crises. Celebrating discovery. Coordinating curricula. Providing emotional support. Witnessing the steady embrace of
#inclusivity
.
Frank Wilczek of
@ScienceMIT
remembers a working class upbringing in NYC, college
@UChicagoPSD
, David Gross and asymptotic freedom
@Princeton
, experimental validation of QCD theory and
@NobelPrize
, and the profound value of particle physics to
#cosmology
Andy Strominger of
@harvardphysics
remembers living on a commune in college, how Calabi-Yau space pushes physics toward a new theory of nature, the information paradox that is posed by black holes, and why work in string theory is a gamble worth pursuing
Brian Schmidt of
@ourANU
recalls childhood in Montana, physics and astronomy
@uarizona
, Bob Kirshner and supernovae
@CenterForAstro
, the origins of the High-Z collaboration and
@NobelPrize
, the import of SkyMapper, and grape growing in a changing climate
Jerry C. Elliott-High Eagle recounts upbringing in OK and
#Cherokee
heritage, being the first Native American to attain a degree in physics from
@UofOklahoma
, work as Lead Retrofire Officer for the Apollo 13 mission
@NASA
and receiving the
#medaloffreedom
Gareth McKinley of
@MITEngineering
recalls childhood in England, education
@Cambridge_Eng
, thesis on nonlinear dynamics of viscoelastic flow, focus on
#rheology
and leadership in polymer research, and longstanding interest in microfluidics
Jim Simons, former chairman of the
@SimonsFdn
and Renaissance Technologies, recalls growing up in Boston, faculty appointment
@stonybrooku
, and he explains his move from academic mathematics to investing, to become the first, and greatest,
#quant
Jeongwan Haah of
@MSFTResearch
describes arriving
@IQIM_Caltech
from
@SNUnow
, investigating natural mechanisms to preserve a quantum qubit, merging condensed matter and quantum information
@ScienceMIT
, and building algorithms for
#quantum
error correction
Mark Wise of
@Caltech
physics recounts his graduate research at
@SLACLab
on weak radiative hyperon decays, how his collaboration with Joe Polchinski helped spark his interest in
#cosmology
, and his current work on conformal Fermi coordinates
bj Bjorken remembers the "Western exodus" from
@Harvard
to
@Stanford
in particle physics, thesis research on scattering amplitudes, the November Revolution
@SLAClab
, quark/gluon confinement, the E137 axion search
@Fermilab
, and current work in
#DarkEnergy
Nergis Mavalvala, Dean of
@ScienceMIT
, recalls childhood in Pakistan, working in the machine shop
@Wellesley
, meeting Rai Weiss and coming out in grad school, joining the
@LIGO
group
@Caltech
,
and the wondrous achievement detecting
#gravitationalwaves
Savas Dimopoulos of
@Stanford
Physics remembers his family's Greek roots in Turkey, arrival in the US and college
@UH_NSM
, working with Yoichiro Nambu
@UChicagoPSD
, postdoc
@PhysicsColumbia
, research in baryogenesis, and the path beyond the Standard Model
Stanley Deser of
@BrandeisScience
recalls the differing styles of Schwinger and Feynman, creating ADM Formalism with Misner and Arnowitt, research in numerical
#relativity
and quantum gravity, Zumino and supergravity, and minimizing hand waving in physics
Abhay Ashtekar of
@penn_state
physics recounts his upbringing in India, the formative mentorship of Bob Geroch at
@UChicagoPSD
, and the goal of loop quantum gravity to merge quantum mechanics and general relativity and to break beyond the
#StandardModel
Chris Quigg of
@Fermilab
recalls upbringing in PA, accelerators
@YalePhysicsDept
, JD Jackson and rho mesons
@BerkeleyPhysics
, appointment
@stonybrooku
, W and Z bosons and Lederman’s discovery of the Upsilon, and exciting prospects in high energy physics
Gordy Kane of
@UmichPhysics
recounts nucleon scattering
@PhysicsIllinois
, the omega minus
@BrookhavenLab
, Murray Gell-Man and group theory, the value of string theory at the
#Planck
scale, M theory and the Standard Model, and fascination with quark masses
Bob Jaffe of
@ScienceMIT
discusses his interests in physics and social justice
@Princeton
, deep inelastic electron scattering and the parton model with Sid Drell
@Stanford
, the egalitarian approach to science
@MIT
, and recent work on the physics of energy
Paula Hammond of
@MITChemE
and
@kochinstitute
remembers childhood in Detroit and her father's work with
@NAACP
, education and research in polymer technology
@ScienceMIT
, interface with biology, lithography, batteries, and optimism for
#mRNA
applications
Marty Israel of
@WashUPhysics
recounts the historic connections between
@UChicago
and
@Caltech
in cosmic ray research, the origin story of capturing the Feynman Lectures in 1961, and Richard Feynman's singular abilities as the "Great Explainer" of physics
Kate Kirby, CEO Emerita
@APSphysics
, recounts childhood in DC, college
@harvardphysics
, chemical physics
@UChicagoPSD
, postdoc and leadership
@CenterForAstro
, research in atmospheric physics, and the profound achievements of women in the physical sciences
Gerard 't Hooft of
@UniUtrecht
remembers postwar Holland, sharing the
@NobelPrize
with his mentor Martinus Veltman, research in QCD and instantons, the Einstein-Bohr debate in historical context, and thinking ever more deeply about
#quantummechanics
France Córdova recounts her winding path toward astrophysics at
@Caltech
, leadership positions with
@UCRiverside
,
@NASA
@LifeAtPurdue
and
@NSF
, and perspective on academic-government partnership for the best in scientific research
Rob Phillips of
@Caltech
BBE recounts surfing and working as an electrician in San Diego, bypassing traditional college, stat-mech
@WashUPhysics
, quasicrystals
@CornellPhysics
, solid mechanics
@brownengin
, and studying the global impact of human existence
Howard Georgi of
@harvardphysics
recounts childhood in NJ, quantum field theory with Shelly Glashow, the Thirring model
@YalePhysicsDept
, Weinberg and
#leptons
, the significance of SU(5), "unparticle" theory, and his efforts to make physics more inclusive
Joel Lebowitz of
@RutgersSAS
remembers surviving
#Auschwitz
, first exposure to theoretical physics
@BrooklynCollege
, research on Coulomb forces and stochastic dynamics, service
@NYASciences
, and an approach to humanism that blends science and morality
Mikhail Shifman of
@UMNCSE
recounts a Soviet-Jewish upbringing and a Russian perspective on physics,
@SLACLab
and the penguin mechanism, connecting Yang-Mills with
#supersymmetry
, research in axions, and the challenge of writing about theoretical physics