This page uses content from the Robert Resnick biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Robert Resnick was a famous physics educator.
He received his B.A. from John Hopkins University in 1943 and his Ph.D. in physics in 1949. Resnick moved to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was head of the interdisciplinary science curriculum for 15 years. He was also the Edward P. Hamilton Distinguished Professor of Science Education for a large part of his stay at RPI from 1974-93.
He received The Hans Christian Oerstad medal, the highest award given by the American Association of Physics Teachers, and was president of that society from 1986-1990. A Fulbright Professor, he was also an honorary research fellow and visiting professor at Harvard University.
During his years at Rensselaer, he co-authored seven textbooks on relativity, quantum physics, and general physics, which have been translated into more than 47 languages. An estimated 7-10 million students have studied from his books.
The most read of his works was the one he co-authored with Halliday, the first-year textbook "Physics" (1960), which revolutionized physics education. Now in it's 7th edition in a 5 volume set under the title "Fundamentals Of Physics" it is still highly regarded. It is noted for it's clear standardized diagrams, very thorough but highly coherent and readable pedagogy, outlook into modern physics, and thought provoking problems. In 2002, the American Physical Society named the work the most outstanding introductory physics text of the 20th century.
His mark still remains at Rensselaer, which named its Robert Resnick Center for Physics Education after him, as well as the "Resnick Memorial Lecture", a special lecture each year where a prominent scientist visits the school, such as Carl Sagan and Kip Thorne(2005). He was adopted into Rensselaer's Hall of Fame in 2003.
See also
Physics education
Feynman lectures
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