Tony Rothman
Encyclopedia
Tony Rothman is an American
theoretical physicist
, academic and writer.
.
Rothman has a B.A. from Swarthmore College
, (1975) and a Ph.D from the University of Texas at Austin
(1981), where he studied at the Center for Relativity. He continued on post-doctoral fellowships at Oxford
, the University of Moscow and the University of Cape Town
.
, then taught at Harvard, Illinois Wesleyan University
, Bryn Mawr College
and more recently at Princeton University
.
Rothman's scientific research has been concerned mainly with general relativity and cosmology
, for which he has made contributions to the study of the early universe, specifically cosmic nucleosynthesis, black holes, inflationary cosmology and gravitons.
Rothman was the scientific editor for Andrei Sakharov
's Memoirs and he has contributed to numerous magazines, including Scientific American
, Discover
, The New Republic
and History Today
. He has played oboe at a professional level and commissioned a concerto from Aleksandr Raskatov.
(Ballantine, 1978), a science fiction novel about the evolution of society on a non-earthlike planet. His experiences in Russia
resulted in publication of a collection of short stories entitled Censored Tales (1989). He has also published six books of popular science and science history. His collection A Physicist on Madison Avenue (1991) was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize
, while Doubt and Certainty, with George Sudarshan
, was chosen by the A-List as one of the 200 best books of 1998. He co-authored Sacred Mathematics: Japanese Temple Geometry with Fukagawa Hidetoshi. This was the first history of sangaku
in English, was published during 2008 and won the Association of American Publisher's 2008 PROSE award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence in mathematics.
Rothman's published writings encompass hundreds of works in 7 languages and include 3,073 library holdings.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theoretical physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, academic and writer.
Early life
Tony is the son of science fiction writer Milton A. RothmanMilton A. Rothman
Milton A. Rothman was a United States nuclear physicist and college professor.He was also an active science fiction fan and a co-founder of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society...
.
Rothman has a B.A. from Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
, (1975) and a Ph.D from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
(1981), where he studied at the Center for Relativity. He continued on post-doctoral fellowships at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, the University of Moscow and the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
.
Career
Rothman worked briefly as an editor at Scientific AmericanScientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
, then taught at Harvard, Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent undergraduate university located in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856...
, Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
and more recently at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
Rothman's scientific research has been concerned mainly with general relativity and cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
, for which he has made contributions to the study of the early universe, specifically cosmic nucleosynthesis, black holes, inflationary cosmology and gravitons.
Rothman was the scientific editor for Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
's Memoirs and he has contributed to numerous magazines, including Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
, Discover
Discover (magazine)
Discover is an American science magazine that publishes articles about science for a general audience. The monthly magazine was launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It was sold to Family Media, the owners of Health, in 1987. Walt Disney Company bought the magazine when Family Media went out of...
, The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
and History Today
History Today
History Today is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it is the world's leading, and possibly oldest, history magazine. Its successful mission has always been to present serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible...
. He has played oboe at a professional level and commissioned a concerto from Aleksandr Raskatov.
Selected works
Tony Rothman's first book, written just after graduating college, was The World is RoundThe World is Round
The World is Round is a science fiction novel by Tony Rothman published in 1978 by Ballantine Books.-Plot summary:The story concerns a world named Patra-Bannk , and a crew of explorers from another world named Two-Bit , seeking a treasure of metallic hydrogen.Upon arriving at the planet, the four...
(Ballantine, 1978), a science fiction novel about the evolution of society on a non-earthlike planet. His experiences in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
resulted in publication of a collection of short stories entitled Censored Tales (1989). He has also published six books of popular science and science history. His collection A Physicist on Madison Avenue (1991) was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
, while Doubt and Certainty, with George Sudarshan
George Sudarshan
Ennackal Chandy George Sudarshan , also E.C.G. Sudarshan, is a prominent Indian American physicist, author, and professor at The University of Texas at Austin.-Early life:...
, was chosen by the A-List as one of the 200 best books of 1998. He co-authored Sacred Mathematics: Japanese Temple Geometry with Fukagawa Hidetoshi. This was the first history of sangaku
Sangaku
Sangaku or San Gaku are Japanese geometrical puzzles in Euclidean geometry on wooden tablets which were placed as offerings at Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples during the Edo period by members of all social classes.-History:The Sangaku were painted in color on wooden tablets and hung in the...
in English, was published during 2008 and won the Association of American Publisher's 2008 PROSE award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence in mathematics.
Rothman's published writings encompass hundreds of works in 7 languages and include 3,073 library holdings.
- 2008 — Sacred mathematics: Japanese temple geometry (with Hidetoshi Fukagawa)
- 2003 — Everything's relative: and other fables from science and technology
- 1998 — Doubt and certainty: the celebrated academy (with E.C.G. Sudarshan)
- 1995 — Instant physics: from Aristotle to Einstein, and beyond
- 1991 — A physicist on Madison Avenue
- 1989 — Science à la mode: physical fashions and fictions
- 1989 — Censored tales
- 1985 — Frontiers of modern physics: new perspectives on cosmology, relativity, black holes, and extraterrestrial intelligence
- 1978 — The world is round