David Louis Goodstein (April 5, 1939 – April 10, 2024) was an American physicist and educator. From 1988 to 2007 he served as Vice-

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

of the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

(Caltech), where he was also a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of physics and

applied physics Applied physics is the application of physics to solve scientific or engineering problems. It is usually considered a bridge or a connection between physics and engineering. "Applied" is distinguished from "pure" by a subtle combination of fac ...

, as well as (since 1995) the Frank J. Gilloon Distinguished Teaching and Service Professor.

Life and work

David Louis Goodstein was born on April 5, 1939. He was educated at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

( BS, 1960) and at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

( Ph.D., 1965). He wrote several books, including ''States of Matter'' (1975) (reprinted in a Dover paperback edition) and '' Feynman’s Lost Lecture'' (1996). In the 1980s he was the director and host of '' The Mechanical Universe'', an educational television series on physics that was adapted for high school use and translated into many other languages. The series has been broadcast on hundreds of public broadcasting stations and has garnered more than a dozen prestigious awards, including the 1987 Japan Prize for television. In his later age, while continuing to teach and conduct research in experimental

condensed matter physics Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid State of matter, phases, that arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms and elec ...

, he turned his attention to issues related to science and society. In articles and speeches, he addressed conduct and misconduct in science, and issues related to

fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...

s and the

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

of Planet Earth. In 2004 he published a best-selling book '' Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil''. In 1999, Goodstein was awarded the

Oersted Medal The Oersted Medal recognizes notable contributions to the teaching of physics. Established in 1936, it is awarded by the American Association of Physics Teachers. The award is named for Hans Christian Ørsted. It is the Association's most presti ...

of the

American Association of Physics Teachers The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) was founded in 1930 for the purpose of "dissemination of knowledge of physics, particularly by way of teaching." There are more than 10,000 members in over 30 countries. AAPT publications includ ...

, and in 2000, the John P. McGovern Medal of the

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...

Society. He served on and chaired numerous scientific and academic panels, including the National Advisory Committee to the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate of the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

. He was a founding member of the board of directors of the

California Council on Science and Technology The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization designed to offer expert advice to the California state government and to recommend solutions to science and technology-related pol ...

. In 2015 he published ''Thermal Physics: Energy and Entropy''.The Mystery of Thermal Physics
(by David Goodstein, cambridgeblog.org) Goodstein died in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

on April 10, 2024, five days after his 85th birthday.

Publications

Books

* 1975 ''States of matter''. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall (reissued by Dover Publications, 1985
unabridged and corrected republication, 2014)
* 1985 ''The mechanical universe: introduction to mechanics and heat'' (Richard P. Olenick, Tom M. Apostol, David L. Goodstein). New York: Cambridge University Press (1st pbk. ed. 2007). * 198
''Beyond the mechanical universe: from electricity to modern physics''
(Richard P. Olenick, Tom M. Apostol, David L. Goodstein). New York: Cambridge University Press (1st pbk. ed. 2007). * 1986 ''The Mechanical Universe, Mechanics and Heat'', Advanced Edition, textbook (Steven C. Frautschi, Richard P. Olenick, Tom M. Apostol, David L. Goodstein). New York: Cambridge University Press (1st pbk. ed. 2008). * 1996 ''Feynman's lost lecture: the motion of planets around the sun'' (David L. Goodstein and Judith R. Goodstein). New York: Norton. * 200

New York: Norton. * 201
''On fact and fraud: cautionary tales from the front lines of science''
Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. * 2011 ''Adventures in Cosmology'' (David Goodstein, editor). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing
2012 reprint
* 2012 ''Climate Change and the Energy Problem: Physical Science and Economics Perspective'' (David Goodstein & Michael Intriligator). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing (2nd Edition, 2017). * 2012 (by Paolo Saraceno). ''Beyond the stars: our origins and the search for life in the universe'' (David Goodstein, translator). Singapore; Hackensack, N.J.: World Scientific Publishing. * 201
''Thermal physics: energy and entropy''
Cambridge, UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. * 201
''Science of the Earth, Climate, and Energy''
(Milton W. Cole, Angela D. Lueking, David L. Goodstein). New Jersey: World Scientific Publishing.

Articles, Book chapters, Reviews

* 1989 "Richard P. Feynman, Teacher". ''Physics Today'', 42(2):70–75. . * 2000 (with Judith Goodstein). "Richard Feynman and the History of Superconductivity". ''Physics in Perspective'', 2(1):30–47. . * 2011 "Quantum Man: Richard Feynman’s Life in Science" (Lawrence M. Krauss). Reviewed by David L. Goodstein. ''Physics Today'', 64(3):55. . * 2011 "How Science Works", in: ''Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence'' (National Research Council). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press (3nd Edition), pp. 37–54
preprint

References

External links

- article adapted from a talk by Caltech vice provost and professor of physics David Goodstein.
The Mechanical Universe
- A series of video lectures on physics, with David Goodstein as the lecturer.
Dr. David Goodstein's Homepage
- Includes a biography on him and some of his recent publications. {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodstein, David 1939 births 2024 deaths American male non-fiction writers American non-fiction environmental writers 21st-century American physicists Jewish American scientists Jewish American non-fiction writers California Institute of Technology faculty University of Washington alumni Activists from California Brooklyn College alumni 21st-century American Jews