obituary – Quanta Magazine https://www.quantamagazine.org Illuminating science Mon, 16 Sep 2024 14:10:47 -0400 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2 The Mathematician Who Sculpted the Shape of Space https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-mathematician-who-shaped-string-theory-20231016/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-mathematician-who-shaped-string-theory-20231016/#respond Mon, 16 Oct 2023 14:03:49 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=131307 The post The Mathematician Who Sculpted the Shape of Space first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> Eugenio Calabi was known to his colleagues as an inventive mathematician — “transformatively original,” as his former student Xiuxiong Chen put it. In 1953, Calabi began to contemplate a class of shapes that nobody had ever envisioned before. Other mathematicians thought their existence was impossible. But a couple of decades later, these same shapes became extremely important in both math and...

Source

]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-mathematician-who-shaped-string-theory-20231016/feed/ 0 How Steven Weinberg Transformed Physics and Physicists https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-steven-weinberg-transformed-physics-and-physicists-20210811/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-steven-weinberg-transformed-physics-and-physicists-20210811/#respond Wed, 11 Aug 2021 14:26:35 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=107750 The post How Steven Weinberg Transformed Physics and Physicists first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> Steven Weinberg, who died on July 23, towered over theoretical physics in the second half of the 20th century. He strongly believed that, armed only with the fundamental principles of relativity and quantum mechanics, the theoretical physicist can examine all phenomena in the universe — from the smallest to the largest scales. His work transformed our understanding of every aspect of fundamental...

Source

]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-steven-weinberg-transformed-physics-and-physicists-20210811/feed/ 0 Isadore Singer Transcended Mathematical Boundaries https://www.quantamagazine.org/isadore-singer-bridged-math-and-physics-20210304/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/isadore-singer-bridged-math-and-physics-20210304/#respond Thu, 04 Mar 2021 15:40:06 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=100800 The post Isadore Singer Transcended Mathematical Boundaries first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> The mathematics community lost a titan with the passing last month of Isadore “Is” Singer. Born in Detroit in 1924, Is was a visionary, transcending divisions between fields of mathematics as well as those between mathematics and quantum physics. He pursued deep questions and inspired others in his original research, wide-ranging lectures, mentoring of young researchers and advocacy in the public...

Source

]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/isadore-singer-bridged-math-and-physics-20210304/feed/ 0 John Conway Solved Mathematical Problems With His Bare Hands https://www.quantamagazine.org/john-conway-solved-mathematical-problems-with-his-bare-hands-20200420/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/john-conway-solved-mathematical-problems-with-his-bare-hands-20200420/#respond Mon, 20 Apr 2020 15:50:14 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=84762 The post John Conway Solved Mathematical Problems With His Bare Hands first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> In modern mathematics, many of the biggest advances are great elaborations of theory. Mathematicians move mountains, but their strength comes from tools, highly sophisticated abstractions that can act like a robotic glove, enhancing the wearer’s strength. John Conway was a throwback, a natural problem-solver whose unassisted feats often left his colleagues stunned. “Every top mathematician was in...

Source

]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/john-conway-solved-mathematical-problems-with-his-bare-hands-20200420/feed/ 0 Remembering the Unstoppable Freeman Dyson https://www.quantamagazine.org/remembering-the-unstoppable-freeman-dyson-20200413/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/remembering-the-unstoppable-freeman-dyson-20200413/#respond Mon, 13 Apr 2020 14:00:41 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=84519 The post Remembering the Unstoppable Freeman Dyson first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> When Freeman Dyson passed away in February at the age of 96, the world lost one of its most versatile scientists and astute humanists. Trained as a mathematician, Dyson had an appetite for number theory, but his most famous achievement came early as a theoretical physicist, laying out the architecture of modern particle physics. He then moved into the design of nuclear reactors...

Source

]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/remembering-the-unstoppable-freeman-dyson-20200413/feed/ 0