Like most of us - maybe more than most of us - I often have gripes about technology. This post reproduces a piece that I wrote many years...

On the recent trip to Italy, talk arose of Ettore Majorana, the Italian scientist whose contributions are now considered fundamental in...

As promised - this post is about Florence. Galileo The city houses the Villa Galileo , where the scientist was imprisoned and spent the...

This post is about my visit to Pisa, where I gave a talk on Friday at the university. My next commitment is a visit today to the VIRGO ...

This post is a review of The Infamous Boundary: Seven Decades of Controversy in Quantum Physics by David Wick. The book is intended to...

This is a post mainly for postdocs joining my group, but may be useful for hires in any organization. I have mentored about 10 postdocs...

This post is a review of A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of J. B. S. Haldane by Samanth Subramanian....

This post is a review of Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland by George Gamow . Though first published in 1940, it still remains a classic of...

A favorite pastime of physicists - like that of sports fans or politics enthusiasts - is comparing prominent figures in their discipline...

This is a review of the book Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson . Some readers might find the subject contentious, especially given the...

This post is a short review of the book Einstein's Universe by Nigel Calder . The book came out in 1979, celebrating the 100th...

Background: Earlier this week we had a visit from (possibly) the world expert on interstellar travel, Les Johnson . Johnson is doubly...

This post is a review of The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens and Ourselves by Arik...

This post is about James Sylvester Gates, Jr. , who visited our campus earlier this week . Jim, as he likes to be called, is a...

Historically, students with advanced degrees in physics (i.e. a PhD) have rarely had the financial world in their sights. This changed in...

Concrete In physics-teaching we try to make the subject relatable by giving concrete examples to illustrate the principles at hand. For...

This is a review of the book Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi , the...

This post is a review of the book The Science of Spin by Roland Ennos. The book is about the role played by physical rotation in the...

This post is in response to questions from various students about the typical steps in the career of an academic physicist (employed at a...

This is a review of the book DNA: The Story of the Genetic Revolution by James Watson with Andrew Berry and Kevin Davies. When I saw the...