Fat Scientists

[samalkhaiat]

Main Question or Discussion Point

Can you name a well known physicist or mathematician who was (or is) over weight during his/her productive years,i.e., between the age of 23 and 45?
Today a colleague of mine said: there weren't any!
I couldn't think of any!
Do you know any?

regards

sam

 

[arunma]

There's a condensed matter physics professor in my department who is extremely active in research. He has the largest potbelly I've ever seen.

 

[samalkhaiat]

There's a condensed matter physics professor in my department who is extremely active in research. He has the largest potbelly I've ever seen

What is his name? Did he published any well-known work?

regards

sam

 

[tronter]

john von neumann

 

[lisab]

There's a condensed matter physics professor in my department who is extremely active in research. He has the largest potbelly I've ever seen.

Maybe his belly is very condensed matter.

 

[George Jones]

Pauli

 

[samalkhaiat]

Pauli

Pauli got fat just one year befor his death.He was then 57. But he was not fat during his productive life in physics. You could check his photos. Almost the same thing happened to Von Neumann.

regards

sam

 

[berkeman]

That is kind of weird. I used google images for physicist, and yeah, not much in the way of chubby hits. I have Safe Search enabled, though -- dunno if that would make a difference...

Did finally find one guy with a bit of extra body fat, many pages down the search. James Joule:

http://www.greenjoules.com/UserFiles/Joule_James_sitting.jpg

 

[Poop-Loops]

It makes total sense in my mind. Physics isn't exactly a high-paying job. Only after they were well established did they make enough money to eat every day.

 

[George Jones]

Pauli got fat just one year befor his death.He was then 57. But he was not fat during his productive life in physics. You could check his photos. Almost the same thing happened to Von Neumann.

regards

sam

I have seen a photo from, I think, the 1930s of a swimsuit attired Pauli, and he was not slim. I'll look it up tomorrow in the library.

What about Veltman? When did he put on his weight?

 

[Gokul43201]

Solvay, 1911:

Solvay, 1921:

Solvay, 1927:

Shelter Island, 1947:

Solvay, 1958:


APS, "Woodstock of Physics", 1987:

 

[samalkhaiat]

What about Veltman? When did he put on his weight?

I donot know, but I saw one very slim veltman martinus in here

http://photos.aip.org/quickSearch.jsp?group=20&qsearch=martinus [Broken]

sam

 

[epenguin]

In James Watson's 'The Double Helix' you will find a mention of Josia Lederberg, a pioneer molecular biologist who was on track for expanding to fill the Universe.

 

[arunma]

What is his name? Did he published any well-known work?

regards

sam

Not sure I should say, he may be reading this. :uhh:

That, and I don't remember how to spell his name. I'll look at the department directory tomorrow and let you know. But no, he isn't a "famous" physicist or anything. Just another one of the active researchers in an average physics department.

 

[Helios]

Ben Franklin seems a little heavy. Can we say he was a physicist?

 

[DeadWolfe]

Von Nuemann was fat all his life.

John Conway is a great mathematicians, he's a huge guy.