Ebook: Walter Kohn: Personal Stories and Anecdotes Told by Friends and Collaborators

This is not a science book, nor even a book about science, although most of the contributors are scientists. It is a book of personal stories about Walter Kohn, a theoretical physicist and winner of half of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Walter Kohn originated and/or refined a number of very important theoretical approaches and concepts in solid-state physics. He is known in particular for Density-Functional Theory. This book represents a kind of "oral history" about him, gathered - in anticipation of his 80th birthday - from former students, collaborators, fellow-scientists, and friends.

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This is not a science book, nor even a book about science, although most of the contributors are scientists. It is a book of personal stories about Walter Kohn, a theoretical physicist and winner of half of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Walter Kohn originated and/or refined a number of very important theoretical approaches and concepts in solid-state physics. He is known in particular for Density-Functional Theory. This book represents a kind of "oral history" about him, gathered - in anticipation of his 80th birthday - from former students, collaborators, fellow-scientists, and friends.

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This is not a science book, nor even a book about science, although most of the contributors are scientists. It is a book of personal stories about Walter Kohn, a theoretical physicist and winner of half of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Walter Kohn originated and/or refined a number of very important theoretical approaches and concepts in solid-state physics. He is known in particular for Density-Functional Theory. This book represents a kind of "oral history" about him, gathered - in anticipation of his 80th birthday - from former students, collaborators, fellow-scientists, and friends.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-XVII
Walter Kohn as Ph.D. Advisor....Pages 1-2
Memories of Walter Kohn at Bell Labs and After....Pages 3-5
Walter Kohn: My Ideal of a “Man of Science”....Pages 6-9
A Twinkle in the Eyes....Pages 10-11
More Than a Founding Father....Pages 12-14
Walter Kohn, the Chemist....Pages 15-19
Looking 50 Years Back: Walter, on the Occasion of His 80th Birthday....Pages 20-22
Meeting Walter Kohn....Pages 23-25
Of Sandboxes and Silences....Pages 26-29
A Glimpse of Walter Kohn....Pages 30-31
Quantum Reflections....Pages 32-34
Not a Relative, but …....Pages 35-38
Riding Walter’s Wake....Pages 39-41
Paris Acquaintances....Pages 42-46
Walter Kohn and the UCSB Campus....Pages 47-47
Principle and Practice....Pages 48-49
Thanksgiving at the Kohns....Pages 50-51
Walter Kohn and UC Policy....Pages 52-53
Walter Kohn and the Australian Psyche....Pages 54-56
Reunion in History....Pages 57-59
For Rappa on His 80th Birthday from Terry....Pages 60-62
Meeting Walter Kohn in Internment Camp....Pages 63-65
Meeting Walter Kohn....Pages 66-67
Impressions of Walter Kohn....Pages 68-68
Reminiscences of Walter....Pages 69-71
To Know How to Count …....Pages 72-73
My Friend and Colleague Walter Kohn....Pages 74-75
Working with Walter....Pages 76-77
A Chinese Portrait of Walter Kohn....Pages 78-80
Memories of Walter Kohn in Santa Barbara....Pages 81-81
Thinking Back....Pages 82-84
Thank You Walter for All You Have Taught Us....Pages 85-88
Vision Realized in Details: To Walter on His 80th Birthday....Pages 89-90
Walter Kohn in Japan....Pages 91-92
My Favorite “Walter Story”....Pages 93-95
Walter Kohn as a Scientist and a Citizen....Pages 96-96
A Personal Tribute to Walter Kohn on His 80th Birthday....Pages 97-98
Recollections of a Long Friendship....Pages 99-102
My Recollections of Professor Walter Kohn....Pages 103-105
With Walter: 40 Years of Friendship....Pages 106-108
The Noble Day....Pages 109-111
The Pleasure of Getting to Know Walter Kohn....Pages 112-114
Happy Birthday Walter!....Pages 115-115
Memories of a Great Scientist and a Great Person....Pages 116-117
Many Happy Returns, Walter!....Pages 118-119
A Postdoc with Walter....Pages 120-121
Reminiscences on the Occasion of Walter Kohn’s 80th Birthday....Pages 122-123
Some Recollections About Walter and His Work....Pages 124-126
Romancing the Theorem....Pages 127-131
Crete, June 1998....Pages 132-134
Recollections of Walter Kohn....Pages 135-137
Walter Kohn — Points of Impact....Pages 138-139
KKR — Reminiscences About Walter Kohn....Pages 140-143
Cecam’s Visitor!....Pages 144-145
Nobel Mania....Pages 146-147
Walter’s Contagious Conscience....Pages 148-152
Memorable Moments with Walter Kohn....Pages 153-154
Impressions of Walter Kohn....Pages 155-159
… Small Matters....Pages 160-164
Walter Kohn in Cracow....Pages 165-166
Walter Kohn....Pages 167-170
A Class with Class....Pages 171-172
Great Influences in a Small Country....Pages 173-176
Walter’s Group Parties....Pages 177-180
He Did Effective-Mass Theory Too!....Pages 181-182
Thoughts and Recollections of a Remarkable Man....Pages 183-184
The Bonding of Quantum Physics with Quantum Chemistry....Pages 185-186
My Meetings with Walter Kohn....Pages 187-191
The Greatest Gift Is Something Worth Thinking About....Pages 192-193
Vignettes: Switzerland, Australia, Santa Barbara....Pages 194-195
Theory Versus Reality....Pages 196-197
Recollections of Walter in La Jolla and Zurich....Pages 198-199
I am Happy that the R Stands for Rostoker....Pages 200-205
It Started with Image Charges....Pages 206-207
A Math Teacher’s Little Poem....Pages 208-210
Stories About Walter....Pages 211-211
A Special Reunion....Pages 212-213
Walking and Talking in Berlin....Pages 214-215
My Personal Walter Kohn Story....Pages 216-223
Walter Kohn and Vienna....Pages 224-226
We Met at the Institute in Copenhagen....Pages 227-230
Happy Birthday, Walter....Pages 231-233
A Mean Martini....Pages 234-237
Lunch with Walter....Pages 238-240
Act of Compassion....Pages 241-243
Some Recollections of Life with Walter Kohn....Pages 244-245
Bonjour Mon Tr?s Cher Ami et Bonne Anniversaire....Pages 246-248
Walter Kohn and Boris Regal: The Early Days of ITP....Pages 249-251
Flashback to My Post-doc Days with Walter....Pages 252-256
A Challenge to My Own Scientific Thoughts....Pages 257-259
Walter Kohn’s Influence on One Engineer....Pages 260-261
A Tribute to Walter Kohn....Pages 262-263
Encounters with Walter: From the Mysterious Second “K” to the Local Secretary....Pages 264-266
An Encounter with Walter Kohn in Orsay....Pages 267-272
Walter Kohn, World Citizen and Professor Extraordinaire....Pages 273-274
Meeting with Walter Kohn....Pages 275-279
My Experience of Working with Walter....Pages 280-281
Walter Kohn: Mentor and Role Model....Pages 282-284
The Scientist and Human Values....Pages 285-287
Back Matter....Pages 288-292
....Pages 293-309