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A panel of former students and colleagues of the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Julian Schwinger, who worked on quantum electrodynamics and quantum field theory, share their memories of his life and achievements. Learn how Schwinger mentored them, inspired them, and influenced their research, and how he was a singularity in the physics world.

Julian Schwinger was a theoretical physicist who made important contributions to quantum electrodynamics, electron accelerators, and magnetically charged particles. He was born in New York City, received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, and held professorships at Harvard and MIT. He died in 1994 and received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965.

Learn about the life and work of Julian Schwinger, the Nobel Prize-winning quantum field theorist who pioneered renormalization theory of quantum electrodynamics and other topics. Find out how he influenced twentieth century science with his elegant and powerful formalism, his intuitive and experimental approach, and his iconoclastic views on quarks, supersymmetry, and more.

12 February 1918 New York, USA Died 16 July 1994 Los Angeles, California, USA Summary Schwinger formulated quantum electrodynamics and thus reconciled quantum mechanics with Einstein's special theory of relativity. View four larger pictures Biography Julian Schwinger progressed rapidly through the public school system of New York City.

Julian Schwinger The Nobel Prize in Physics 1965 Born: 12 February 1918, New York, NY, USA Died: 16 July 1994, Los Angeles, CA, USA Affiliation at the time of the award: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

Julian Schwinger was a theoretical physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for his contributions to quantum electrodynamics (QED). He used renormalization to reconcile QED with experimental observations, developed the Schwinger effect, and predicted the existence of two neutrinos. He also worked on cold fusion and other topics in particle physics.