Albert Einstein Award

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The Albert Einstein Award (sometimes called the Albert Einstein Medal because it is accompanied with a gold medal) is an award in theoretical physics, that was established to recognize high achievement in the natural sciences. It was endowed by the Lewis and Rosa Strauss Memorial Fund in honor of Albert Einstein's 70th birthday. It was first awarded in 1951 and included a prize money of $15,000,[1][2] which was later reduced to $5,000.[3][4] The winner is selected by a committee (the first of which consisted of Einstein, Oppenheimer, von Neumann and Weyl [5]) of the Institute for Advanced Study, which administers the award.[2] Lewis L. Strauss used to be one of the trustees of the institute.[6]

This award should not be confused with many others named after the famous physicist, such as the Albert Einstein World Award of Science given by the World Cultural Council (since 1984), the Albert Einstein Medal given by the Albert Einstein Society (since 1979), nor with the Hans Albert Einstein Award, named after his son and given by the American Society of Civil Engineers (since 1988).[7] It was established much earlier than these, when Einstein was still alive and was a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study. It has been called "the highest of its kind in the United States" by The New York Times.[8] It has also been considered as "the prestigious equivalent of a Nobel Prize".[9]

[edit] Recipients

1978 : Stephen Hawking [9]
1972 : Eugene Wigner [10]
1970 : Yuval Ne'eman [11]
1967 : Marshall Rosenbluth [4]
1965 : John Archibald Wheeler [12]
1961 : Luis W. Alvarez [3]
1959 : Willard F. Libby [13]
1958 : Edward Teller [14]
1954 : Richard P. Feynman [2]
1951 : Kurt Gödel [15] and Julian Schwinger [1]

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ a b Biography of J. Schwinger from University of St Andrews, MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive (Last accessed Dec. 17, 2006).
  2. ^ a b c The Month at Caltech, April 1954 issue, p. 20 (Last accessed on September 4, 2007).
  3. ^ a b (1962) The Americana Annual 1962 : An Encyclopedia of the Events of 1961. Americana Corporation. ISSN 0196-0180. 
  4. ^ a b (1968) Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1967. Scientific and Technical Information Branch, NASA. ISSN 0519-2366. 
  5. ^ Sigmund, Dawson, Muhlberger (2006). Kurt Godel: The Album. ISBN 3834801739. 
  6. ^ Report of the Director for 1948-53, Institute for Advanced Studies, p. 30 (1954). (pdf file last accessed on September 6, 2007).
  7. ^ Details about the Hans Albert Einstein Award, from the ASCE website (Last accessed on September 11, 2007).
  8. ^ New Scientist magazine, EBSCO Publishing, vol. 77, p. 272, 1978.
  9. ^ a b White, Gribbin (2002). Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science. ISBN 0309084105. 
  10. ^ Science magazine, vol. 176, p. 896, 1972.
  11. ^ (1971) The World Book Year Book: An Annual Supplement to the World Book. ISBN 071660471X.  p. 217
  12. ^ (1980) McGraw-Hill Modern Scientists and Engineers. ISBN 0070452660.  p. 302.
  13. ^ Biography of W. F. Libby at nobelprize.org (Last accessed May 13, 2008).
  14. ^ Edward Teller—Awards & Degrees from LLNL website (Last accessed Feb. 11, 2007).
  15. ^ (1987) Biographical Memoirs V.56. National Academy Press, 134-179. ISBN 0309036933. 

[edit] External links