World Scientific Newsletter March 2014 Page 1

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Eminent Professor Freeman J. Dyson puts forth

New Collection of Writings

The "Birds and Frogs" of Mathematics

Awarded the Wolf Prize in 1981 for his excep-tional contributions to the development and application of the quantum theory of fields, Professor Freeman J. Dyson is a well-respected theoretical physicist and mathematician who has used his profound knowledge of mathematics to contribute to the many different areas of physics and whose most significant contribution to science was the unification of the three seemingly different versions of quantum electrodynamics invented by Richard Feynman, Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, respectively.

The unique title of this book can be explained by Prof Dyson's belief that mathematicians can be divided into two groups that are equally important to the world of mathematics – birds and frogs. In his words, "Mathematics needs both birds and frogs. Mathematics is rich and beautiful because birds give it broad visions and frogs give it intricate details."

This book is undoubtedly a collection of the most interesting writings of Prof Dyson from 1990–2014, which were selected by him, and is a sequel to the volume, Selected Papers of Freeman Dyson with Commentary, which only contains a selection of his papers up to 1990.

Birds and Frogs is an invaluable compilation that also contains some unpubliununpublipublissshehedhedd lectures in other subjects such as history and politics and is a must-read for all, not just for students of physics and mathematics.

Proceedings of the Conference in Honor of the 90th Birthday of Professor Freeman J. Dyson

As a tribute to Professor Freeman J. Dyson on the occasion of his 90th birthday and to celebrate his lifelong contributions in numerous fields, a conference covering a wide range of topics was held in Singapore from 26 to 29 August 2013. Distinguished scientists from around the world, including Nobel Laureate Professor David Gross, joined Prof Dyson in the celebration with a festival of lectures. This memorable volume includes an interesting article by Prof Dyson as well as guest contributions by colleagues who celebrated his birthday at Rutgers University and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

A Book on the Groundbreaking Medical Discoveries

by Scientists Who Have Not Been Awarded the Nobel Prize

edited by Emeritus Professor Gilbert Thompson

Pioneers of Medicine without a Nobel Prize is the sequel to one of the bestsellers, Nobel Prizes that Changed Medicine, which is a compilation of essays on several Nobel Prize-winning discoveries written by prominent academics. This new book brings together in one volume 15 discoveries that have had a major impact upon medical science and the practice of medicine but where the scientists involved have not been awarded a Nobel Prize. Many of the contributors in this book have personal knowledge of the scientists they write about and are all distinguished authorities in their own field.

This is a highly recommended book as no other book has brought together the non-Nobel-Prize-winning discoveries having the greatest influence on the practice of medicine, dating from the first description of inborn errors of metabolism by Garrod in 1908 to the discovery of statins by Endo in the 1970s, for which he received the Lasker Award in 2008. This book publicizes the achievements of these lesser-known heroes of our time and is thereby an informative and entertaining read.

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