Mathematician
Project
Mathematician:Albert Einstein
Name:Andrew Waxman
Name:
Date: 11/4/11
Pd:All of them
Research Worksheet
1. Full name/name at birth:Albert Einstein (Nobel Lectures)
2. Date of birth: 3/14/1879 (Nobel Lectures)
Place of birth:Ulm, Germany (Nobel Lectures)
3. Date of death: 4/18/1955 (Nobel Lectures)
Place of death:Princeton, New Jersey (Nobel Lectures)
4. Education:
a. Pre-College: Luitpold Gymnasium, Munich (Nobel Lectures)
b. College:Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute, Zurich (Nobel Lectures) (Vujovic)
5. Five major life-events (with date and/or year):
1905: “miracle year,” papers on quantum theory, photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, & special
relativity, earned doctorate degree (Nobel Lectures) (Levenson)
1921: awarded Nobel Prize in Physics for describing photoelectric effect (All About Science)
1933: moves to the United States (Nobel Lectures)
1939: writes to President Roosevelt warning about the possibility of Germany building an atomic bomb
(Argonne) (Atomic Archive)
1940: becomes U.S. citizen (Vujovic)
6. Major Contributions to Mathematics: e = mc2, which explains the mathematical relationship between energy
& matter. Redefined the idea of gravity as the bending of space rather than a force of attraction between two
objects (Nobel Lectures) (Levenson) (All About Science)
7. Important Publications/Works:
a. Title:Special Theory of Relativity (Nobel Lectures) Year:1905 (Nobel Lectures)
What is it about?States that there is no absolute frame of reference in the universe (All About Science),
identifyes the relationship between energy & matter (Levenson)
b. Title:General Theory of Relativity (Nobel Lectures) Year:1916 (Nobel Lectures)
What is it about?Adds the effects of large masses to the Special Theory of Relativity (All About
Science), redefines gravity (Levenson)
c. Title: Quantum Theory of Light (Levenson) Year:1905 (Levenson)
What is it about?Describes light as both a particle & a wave (Levenson), states that when quanta of light
strike metal, they force atoms to release electrons (Vujovic)
8. Famous quote (from him/her or about him/her): Said by:Einstein
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe”
(Brainy Quote)
9. Interesting/Funny Fact:In 1919, he married his cousin, Elsa Lowenthal (Nobel Lectures)
10.
Mathematician lived from 1879 to 1955. Five major world events that happened during his/her
lifetime:
Year: 1914-1918 Event:World War I (WorldWar-1.net)
Year: 1932 Event:Nazi discrimination against Jews (Time Line)
Year:1939-1945 Event:World War II (Stokes)
Year:1942-1945 Event:Manhattan Project (Atomic Archive)
Year: 1948 Event:Founding of the nation of Israel (Palestine Facts)
11.
Five contemporaries/people of interest mathematician knew/worked with/was influenced by (at least
one other mathematician, at least one personal, at least one political):
Name:Elsa Lowenthal Relationship:cousin/wife (Nobel Lectures)
Name:Dr. Chaim Weizmann Relationship:collaborator in establishing Hebrew University of Jerusalem
(Nobel Lectures)
Name:Franklin D. Roosevelt Relationship:discussed Germany’s pursuit of an atomic weapon during
WW II (Argonne) (Atomic Archive)
Name: Max Planck Relationship:colleague at the University of Berlin (Nobel Lectures)
Name:Maurice Solovine/Conrad Habicht Relationship:group of friends who gathered to discuss
philosophy & physics (Goldsmith)
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Include sources for pictures)
Albert Einstein, All About Science. 7, Oct., 2009. http://www.allaboutscience.org/albert-einstein-faq.htm
Albert Einstein, Nobel Lectures. 1967. 7, Oct., 2009.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/einstein-bio.html
Albert Einstein Quotes, BrainyQuote. 7, Oct., 2009.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes.authors/a/albert_einstein_9.html
Goldsmith, Donald & Bartusiak, Marcia. E=Einstein: His Life, His Thought, and His Influence on Our Culture.
Sterling Publishing Co., New York. 2006. 19, Oct., 2010.
Israel’s Independence, Palestine Facts. 2009. 7, Oct., 2009.
http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_independence_israel_date.php
Levenson, Thomas. Genius Among Geniuses, Einstein’s Big Idea, Nova Science Programming On Air and
Online. 2005. 7, Oct., 2009. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/genius
Stokes, Phil. Phil’s World War II Pages. 1995-2004. 7, Oct., 2009.
http://www.secondworldwar.co.uk/dates.html
The “Last Universal Scientist” Takes Charge. Argonne National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy. 7, Oct.,
2009. http://www.anl.gov/Science_and_Technology/History/Anniversery_Frontiers/unisci.html#letter
The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb, atomicarchive.com. 1998-2008. 7, Oct., 2009.
http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/mp/index.shtml
Time Line of Albert Einstein’s Life. Einstein’s Big Idea, Nova Science Programming On Air and Online. 2005.
7, Oct., 2009. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/timeline.
Vujovic, Ljubo. Albert Einstein. 7, Oct., 2009. http://www.teslasociety.com/einstein.htm
WorldWar-1.net. 2006. 7, Oct., 2009. http://www.worldwar-1.net/