Richard Feynman Was The Greatest Physicist Of The 20th Century (Essay Sample)

RICHARD FEYNMAN WAS THE GREATEST PHYSICIST OF THE 20TH CENTURY
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October 7, 2017
When Marie Curie (1867 - 1934)─ a Polish Nobel laureate in both physics and chemistry─ stated that nothing in life ought to be fear, but to be understood, her statement may have been an augural and germane definition of the life of Richard Feynman and his scientific endeavors. Born few months before the end of World War I in Far Rockaway, New York city, to Jewish immigrants, Feynman would grow up to become one of the most renown and influential physicist of his era. As written by Henderson in Richard Feynman: Quarks, Bombs, and Bongos; a famous biography of Feynman, the latter was not only a great teacher to a whole generation of young physicists, but an apotheosis of American science in the post-World Wars era.[As quoted in Our Precarious Habitat (1973) by Melvin A. Benarde] [Harry Henderson, Richard Feynman: Quarks, Bombs, and Bongos (New York, N.Y: Chelsea House Publishers, 2011) xvi]
According to his memoirs, his formative years were characterized by insatiable inquisitiveness and curiosity─ which compelled him to venture into the world of science. Ironically, neither of his parents had any manifest affiliation to science. Nonetheless, Feynman later acknowledged his father’s influence and contribution in nurturing the young boy’s ambitions. In some of his writings; such as What do you Care What Other People Think?, he states that his sense of humor was a heritage from his mother. Joan; his younger sister; was as passionate about science as him─ and this is evident through her choice to pursue a career in astrophysics. Feynman attended Far Rockaway High School where his skills and superior ability to understand mathematical concepts became apparent. His brilliance would take him to Massachusetts Institute of Technology; where studied physics. He would late proceed to Princeton University for his PhD.[Richard P Feynman, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character (New York: W. W. Norton. 1985) 1-2] [Henderson, Richard Feynman: Quarks, Bombs, and Bongos, 3] [Richard P. Feynman., What Do You Care What Other People Think? (New York: W.W. Norton, 1988)] [Henderson, 4] [James Gleick, Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman (New York: Open Road Integrated Media, 1992) 191]
While still pursuing his doctorate degree, Feynman served as a member of atomic bomb project; whose objective was to devise a link between theoretical atomic physics and practical application. He was later recruited to a government laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he became one of the core leaders of Manhattan project. One of the major areas where he specialized in this project was on computation and analysis of huge amount of data used in the project. For five years, between 1945 and 1945, he worked as an associate professor in Cornell University. It is at the California Institute of Technology where he became a professor and subsequently remained there until his demise in the year 1988, aged 69 years.[Feynman, Richard P, Robbins, Jeffrey, ed. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Perseus Books, 1999) 1-290]
Feynman’s career was decorated with multiple awards based on his contributions in the field of physics. As written by Gleick, the first public recognition he received was in the year 1954 when he won Albert Einstein Award. Eight years later, he was awarded Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award. The ultimate epitome of his achievements as a physicist is undoubtedly ...