Springer Biographies

This accessible and entertaining biography chronicles the life and triumphs of astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort, who helped lay the foundations of modern astronomy in the 20th century. The book puts into context some of Oort's most significant achievements, including his discovery that the Milky Way rotates, as well as his famous hypothesis that our Solar System is surrounded by a reservoir of comets - now simply known as the Oort Cloud. Written by Oort's former student, this fascinating story also delves into Oort's pivotal role in the foundation of major astronomical facilities, including radio telescopes in the Netherlands and the European Southern Observatory (ESO), which now operates the most successful astronomical observatories in the world. The book draws extensively on new archival research through the Oort Archives, along with personal reminiscences by Oort's son and astronomer-grandson, to paint a more detailed picture of Oort's life not just as an astronomer, but also as a husband, father, and citizen. The strong public interest in comets triggered by the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov—Gerasimenko and the recently discovered interstellar comet in the Solar System make this book particularly timely.

This non-technical biography of Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn (1851-1922) presents to the general reader the scientific life of the astronomer who pioneered the studies of the structure of the Milky Way Galaxy. In telling Kapteyn's story the author weaves in astronomy basics and uses modern astronomical images to show the developments of astronomical research from Kapteyn's times to the present. In particular the study of the distribution of stars in space has now culminated with spectacular new insights coming from the astrometric satellite GAIA, which is receiving much public attention today. The biography shows how Kapteyn's ideas influenced prominent astronomers worldwide. He is prominent as designer of the Kapteyn Universe, the alternative to the large system found by Harlow Shapley. He is the discoverer of Kapteyn's Star, still the second fastest moving star in the sky, which is now one of the nearest stars with a planet in the habitable zone. This fascinating hybrid of astronomy history and popular astronomy tells the story of the astronomy professor without an observatory who founded the first astronomical laboratory specializing in measuring photographic plates exposed elsewhere. Kapteyn took astronomy out of cataloguing stars to measuring distances and velocities in order to study their spatial distribution, systematic motions (Kapteyn's Star Streams) and the equilibrium between their gravity and motions. His legacy includes, in addition to the first application of Galactic structure and dynamics, Jan Hendrik Oort, the famous astronomer from Leiden, who as a student was so impressed by Kapteyn's lectures that he decided to become an astronomer.

Vladimir Babitsky was born before the Second World War and migrated West after Perestroika. The theory of vibro-impact systems that he developed helped create the world's safest jackhammer and other record-breaking machines. The author has lived through a series of fascinating epochs: experiencing life under totalitarianism, witnessing the Soviet Union's collapse, and then migrating to Europe as a specialist in his field. "On the Waves of a Pulsating World" is an animated and highly engaging story about the journey of an engineer; from childhood daydreams to creating new technologies, from East to West, and from concepts to realities. It is also the story of people who outshine authoritarianism.

This is a fascinating account of two great scientists of the 20th century: Einstein and Heisenberg, discoverers, respectively, of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. It connects the history of modern physics to the life stories of these two extraordinary physicists. These discoveries laid the foundation of modern physics, without which our digitized world of computers, satellites, and innovative materials would not be possible. This book also describes in comprehensible terms the complicated science underlying the two discoveries. The twin biography highlights the parallels and differences of these two luminaries, showing how their work shaped the 20th century into the century of physics.

This book is more than an autobiographical account of the career of a young graduate from Australia who spent his life working as a United Nations official. It is in fact, a critical, indispensable debriefing of a UN insider's account as it follows the life of a development practitioner for more than three decades within the global aid sector. It also goes where few others have dared to go before, providing first-hand insights into the realities of a UN career official's life. While many throughout the world may wish to join the "UN family" or have already become part of the development sector, it is presumed they all have a vision to act as vehicles for positive social change. However, expectations can and may differ once realities have sunk in. The book opens a unique space in the international aid sector—particularly, population security—around elements of personal and professional rewards and costs.

This book, which will appeal to all with an interest in the history of radiology and physics, casts new light on the life and career of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, showing how his personality was shaped by his youth in the Netherlands and his teachers in Switzerland. Beyond this, it explores the technical developments relevant to the birth of radiology in the late nineteenth century and examines the impact of the discovery of X-rays on a broad range of scientific research. Röntgen (1845-1923) was born in Lennep, Germany, but emigrated with his family to the Netherlands in 1848. As a 17-year-old he moved to Utrecht, entering the Technical School and living at the home of Dr. Jan Willem Gunning. In this well-educated family he was stimulated to continue his studies at university. In 1868 he received a diploma from the Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich and just a year later completed a PhD in physics. He followed his mentor, August Kundt, to the universities of Würzburg (1870) and Strasburg (1872) and married Anna Ludwig in 1872. In 1879 Röntgen gained his first professorship at a German University, in Giessen, followed by a chair in Würzburg in 1888. Here he discovered X-rays in 1895, for which he received the first Nobel Prize in physics in 1901. From 1900 until his retirement in 1921 he occupied the chair of physics at the Munich University.

Outbreak in the Village is a fascinating account of the personal and professional journey of Dr. Doug Jenkinson, physician and researcher. Over the course of four decades in practice, Jenkinson traces the reemergence of whooping cough in the developed world, using his practice in the idyllic English countryside as a clinical control group. Keeping meticulous notes and indulging an itch to investigate, he explores one of history's most enigmatic and pervasive diseases. Jenkinson relates the tale of his life's work amid winsome anecdotes, relevant history, and practical advice. Told in an amiable, engaging voice with an expert balance of levity and earnestness, this story will charm casual readers interested in medical history and memoir, as well as doctors and researchers who identify with the experiences and may benefit from the research and techniques employed. Readers will find themselves in the examination room beside Jenkinson as the investigation unfolds, learning about the nature of the illness and the sweeping detrimental effects of an anti-vaccination campaign. An intriguing memoir about a mysterious illness, a public health failure, and one doctor's quest for clarity, Outbreak in the Village is a tale of perseverance and objectivity sure to delight and inform.