James Trefil

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Trefil (born September 10, 1938 ) is an American theoretical physicist , known as a non-fiction author.

Life

Trefil studied at the University of Illinois (bachelor's degree) and at Stanford University , where he received his master's degree and his PhD in 1966. He also holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Oxford University . He initially dealt with quark models in elementary particle physics. As a post-doc he worked at CERN , DESY , Laboratory of Nuclear Science at MIT , Stanford Linear Accelerator Center , Fermilab , Argonne National Laboratory . He was a professor at the University of Virginia and is currently Robinson Physics Professor at George Mason University . He is best known as the author of over 40 popular science books on physics and the natural sciences. He is also a regular contributor to Smithsonian and Astronomy magazines , writes for many American newspapers (such as USA Today , Washington Post ), and commented on scientific topics on National Public Radio . He is also a scientific advisor at the television station PBS .

He was a Guggenheim Fellow and is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum , the American Association for the Advancement of Science (whose Westinghouse and Subaru Award he received), and the American Physical Society . For his books he received the Andrew Gemant Award from the American Institute of Physics .

Trefil lives in Virginia in the suburbs of Washington, DC

Fonts

  • Introduction to the Physics of Fluids and Solids. Pergamon Press 1975.

Popular science books:

  • Physics as a liberal art. New York 1978.
  • From atoms to quarks. 1980.
  • with Robert Rood: Are we alone in the universe? The possibility of extraterrestrial civilization. Birkhäuser, 1982, 2nd edition 1987, Goldmann, 1988 ( Are we alone? )
  • Physics in a beach chair - of water, wind and waves. Wunderlich, 1991, Rowohlt, 1991, new edition 2002 ( A scientist at the seashore. Macmillan, 1984).
  • At the moment of creation. Big Bang physics. From Planck's time until today. Birkhäuser, 1984.
  • Journey to the heart of things - from the adventure of physical vision. Birkhäuser, 1984 ( The unexpected vista- a physicists view of nature. )
  • Physics in the mountain hut. rororo, 1994 ( Meditations at 10,000 Feet. 1986).
  • Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. Houghton and Mifflin, 1988.
  • Five reasons why the world cannot exist - Dark Matter Astrophysics. Rowohlt, 1990 ( The Dark Side of the Universe. 1989).
  • with Robert Hazen: Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy. 1991.
  • 1,001 Things Everyone Should Know About Science. 1992.
  • with Harold Morowitz: The Facts of Life? 1992.
  • A Scientist in the City. 1994.
  • with Robert Hazen: The Sciences: An Integrated Approach. 1995.
  • The Edge of the Unknown. 1996, ISBN 0-395-72862-2 .
  • Are we unique? Wiley, 1997.
  • Are We Unique: A Scientist Explores the Complexity of the Human Brain. 1997.
  • All of the reasons why the world is so different. The riddles of the cosmos, the limits of knowledge. Droemer / Knaur, 1998
  • Secrets of the cosmos. The most spectacular pictures in the universe. Steiger, Munich 2000 ( Other Worlds: The Solar System and Beyond? 1999).
  • The Laws of Nature. 2002.
  • (Ed.): The Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. 2002.
  • The Nature of Science: An AZ Guide to the Laws and Principles Governing Our Universe. 2003, ISBN 0-618-31938-7 .
  • The moment of Creation: Big Bang Physics from before the First Millisecond to the Present Universe. 1983, dover, 2004.
  • Human Nature: A Blueprint for Managing the Earth - By People, For People? 2004, ISBN 0-8050-7248-9 .
  • with Robert Hazen: Physics matters: an introduction to conceptual physics. Wiley, 2004.
  • Pretty awesome. How inventions change the world . NG Buchverlag, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-86690-674-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Trefil ( memento of March 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) on the homepage of the Robinson Professors of George Mason University; Retrieved January 3, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Trefil, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American physicist
DATE OF BIRTH September 10, 1938