Fermi Remembered

Nobel laureate and scientific luminary Enrico Fermi (1901-54) was a pioneering nuclear physicist whose contributions to the field were numerous, profound, and lasting. Best known for his involvement with the Manhattan Project and his work at Los Alamos that led to the first self-sustained nuclear reaction and, ultimately, to the production of electric power and plutonium for atomic weapons, Fermi and his work continue to color the character of the sciences at the University of Chicago. During his tenure as professor of physics at the Institute for Nuclear Studies, Fermi attracted an extraordinary scientific faculty and many talented students-ten Nobel Prizes were awarded to faculty or students under his tutelage. Fermi Remembered combines essays and newly commissioned reminiscences with private material from Fermi's research notebooks, correspondence, speech outlines, and teaching to document the profound and enduring significance of Fermi's life and labors.The volume features extensive archival material - including correspondence between Fermi and physicist Leo Szilard and a letter from Harry Truman - with new introductions that provide context for both the history of physics and the academic tradition at the University of Chicago.

"A lively collection of reminiscences about the greatest Italian scientist of the twentieth century." (New Scientist) "Fermi Remembered provides fascinating insights into Fermi's style and the beginning of the Manhattan project." (Times Higher Education) "As a researcher and a teacher, Fermi inspired two generations and two continents-a man whose charismatic nature attracted many talented scientists and students to Chicago. What emerges from this book is the gratitude of so many extraordinary physicists to their master, who instilled in them a passion that has lasted a lifetime: the passion for physics." (Physics World)"

James W. Cronin is University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago.