Scientific Journeys

This collection of essays traces a scientific journey bookmarked by remarkable mentors and milestones of science. It provides fascinating reading for everyone interested in the history, public appreciation, and value of science, as well as giving first-hand accounts of many key events and prominent figures. The author was one of the sputnik kids growing up in the US at the start of the space age. He built a working laser just two years after they were first invented, an experience that convinced him to become a physicist. During his 50-year career in physics, many personalities and notable events in science and technology helped to form his view of how science contributes to the modern world, including his conviction that the impact of science can be most effective when introduced within the context of the humanities - especially history, literature and the arts.
From the Foreword by former U.S. Congressman, RushD. Holt: In this volume, we have the wide-ranging thoughts and observations of Fred Dylla , an accomplished physicist with an engineer's fascination for gadgets, a historian's long perspective, an artist's aesthetic eye, and a teacher's passion for sharing ideas. Throughout his varied career [...] his curiosity has been his foremost characteristic and his ability to see the connection between apparently disparate things his greatest skill. [...] Here he examines the roots and growth of innovation in examples from Bell Laboratories, Edison Electric Light Company, and cubist painter Georges Braque. He considers the essential place of publishing in science, that epochal intellectual technique for learning how the world works. He shows the human enrichment and practical benefits that derive from wise investments in scientific research, as well as the waste resulting from a failure to embrace appropriate technologies.

An engaging collection of stories about events and personalities that shaped a physicist's world view Authored by a notable physicist and long-term director of the American Institute of Physics Gives fascinating insights into the interplay of science, technology, publishing and politics

Auteur

Fred Dylla is the Executive Director Emeritus of the American Institute of Physics. He has spent 50 years as an inquiring physicist, helping to design and build scientific facilities for astronomy, fusion energy, particle and nuclear physics, medical and materials research. Along the way he enjoyed sharing his love of science and the arts with students, colleagues, family and friends. He lives in Lewes, Delaware with his wife Linda.

Résumé

"The author's infectious enthusiasm for science-and his evocative depiction of post-World War II optimism about the future-is inspiring." (Physics Today, March, 2021)

"All of the essays are thoughtful and fun to read. Anyone interested in science will find them interesting and accessible." (Michael Duncan, Optics & Photonics News, osa-opn.org, February 11, 2021)

"[Dylla ... explores] the idea that a single individual at the right time and place can change the course of history. Bounding through the centuries, he highlights the importance of science policy and science communication, the funding of big and small science alike, and the contemporary challenges linked to research,teaching science and scholarly publishing." (Cristina Agrigoroae, CERN Courier, cerncourier.com, January 29, 2021)

Contenu
Introduction.- Part 1: Signposts.- Part 2: Mentors and Milestones.- Part 3: Science Policy Matters.- Part 4: Communicating Science.- Part 5: Art and Science.- Epilogue.