Born in New York City in 1918, he studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he obtained his B.Sc. in 1939, and at Princeton University where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1942. He was Research Assistant at Princeton (1940-1941), Professor of Theoretical Physics at Cornell University (1945-1950), Visiting Professor and thereafter appointed Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology (1950-1986).
He worked on the first Atomic Bomb in Los Alamos for the U.S. Government.
Feynman was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1965 for his work in the theory of quantum electrodynamics, which describes how atoms produce radiation. He reconstructed almost the whole of quantum mechanics and electrodynamics in his own way, deriving a method of analyzing atomic interactions through simple diagrams which carry his name and are still widely used.
In 1986, he was appointed to the committee investigating the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
Feynman also held the following awards: Albert Einstein Award (1954, Princeton); Einstein Award (Albert Einstein Award College of Medicine); Lawrence Award (1962).
A great teacher, he had a nonconformist approach to his life and to his work. He died in 1988 in Los Angeles, California.
|
