PEOPLE WE ALL LOVE IN SCIENCE

Albert Einstein | Carl Sagan | Giordano Bruno | Marie Curie | Stephen Hawking

Albert Einstein | 1879 - 1955
Ulm, Germany

Albert Einstein was a German theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, one of the pillars of modern physics alongside quantum mechanics. His mass-energy equivalence formula, E=mc² — which has been called "the most famous equation in the world" — was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his contributions to theoretical physics" and, especially, for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, which was fundamental in the establishment of quantum theory. He has published more than 300 scientific works, along with more than 150 non-scientific works.

His great intellectual achievements and originality made the word "Einstein" synonymous with genius. His theories inspired so many discoveries that it would be impossible to imagine our world without Einstein.

Albert Einstein passed away at the age of 76, on April 18, 1955. The cause of his death was a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Carl Sagan | 1934 - 1996
New York, USA

It is fair to say that Carl Sagan was the man who brought the Universe into our homes. The popularity of his program "Cosmos", a pioneer in terms of mixing entertainment and scientific content, made Carl Sagan one of the most popular scientists in the world.

Although most people recognize him for his television contributions, Sagan is the author of more than 600 scientific publications, and also the author of more than 20 science and science fiction books. In addition, he promoted the search for extraterrestrial intelligence through the SETI project and instituted the sending of messages aboard space probes. His contribution is so extensive that it would not fit here, but it is worth highlighting the fact that, through his observations of the atmosphere of Venus, he was one of the first scientists to study the greenhouse effect on a planetary scale.

Carl Sagan passed away at the age of 62, on December 20, 1996. The cause of his death was pneumonia complicated by myelodysplasia, a medical condition related to the abnormal production of blood cells in the bone marrow.

Giordano Bruno | 1548 - 1600
Nola, Italy

Unlike Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), Bruno refused to refute German astronomer Johannes Kepler's (1571–1630) theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun.

Furthermore, as he was a priest and theologian, his heresies and doubts regarding the Holy Trinity were interpreted as an act of insubordination to the Pope. Because he remained faithful to his scientific convictions, he was condemned to be burned alive. Upon hearing his sentence on February 8, 1600, he reportedly told the judges: "You pronounce this sentence against me with greater fear than I feel when I receive it."

Giordano Bruno made a decisive intellectual contribution to ending the Middle Ages once and for all and became a martyr for free thought.

Marie Curie | 1867 - 1934
Warsaw, Poland

Marie Skłodowska Curie was a Polish scientist with French citizenship who conducted pioneering research in the field of radioactivity. She was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize and the first person and only woman to win the prize twice.

The Curie family won a total of five Nobel Prizes. Marie Curie was the first woman to be admitted as a professor at the University of Paris. In 1995, the scientist became the first woman to be buried in her own right in the Pantheon in Paris.

Her scientific dimension, if we take into account that her discoveries about radioactivity are still essential to medicine today, is no greater than her importance in human terms due to the pioneering spirit she claimed as a woman.

Marie Curie died at age 66 from leukemia caused by exposure to radiation.

Stephen Hawking | 1942 - 2018
Oxford, England

Stephen William Hawking was a British theoretical physicist and cosmologist and one of the most celebrated scientists of the century. Doctor of cosmology, he was Lucasian professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge, a post held by Isaac Newton, Paul Dirac and Charles Babbage.

He was, shortly before his death, director of research at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) and founder of the Center for Theoretical Cosmology (CTC) at the University of Cambridge. But more than his scientific achievements, Stephan Hawking marked the world with his willpower to overcome the disease that soon took away his ability to move and speak, always with a sense of humor, love for the people around him and total dedication. to humanity.

Powered by: Bobtail