Tribute to John A. Wheeler

Ashutosh writes a beautiful tribute to theoretical physicist John Archibald Wheeler, who passed away on April 13th, 2008.

Wheeler was the last survivor of that heroic age that changed the world and he worked with some true prima donnas. He was an unusually imaginative physicist who made excursions into exotic realms; particles traveling backwards in time, black holes, time travel. A list of his collaborators and friends includes the scientific superstars of the century- Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Edward Teller and Richard Feynman to name a few. To the interested lay public, he would be best known as Richard Feynman’s PhD. advisor at Princeton.

Certain details that Ashutosh provides about the man are simply inspiring, like getting a PhD at 21, serving as a guide for over half a century and working way past retirement age.