Jan Lacki
Jan Lacki | |
|---|---|
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| Born | November 10, 1960 |
| Residence | Geneva, 1211, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Swiss, Polish |
| Alma mater | University of Geneva |
| Known for | Ritzian Relativity |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Professor of Physics |
Jan Lacki (born 10 November 1960) is a Swiss and Polish physicist and historian and philosopher of science who is a professor in the Unit of History and Philosophy of Sciences at the University of Geneva. His research concerns the history of relativity and quantum mechanics and their philosophical implications, including the historical work of Swiss theoretical physicist Walter Ritz.
Biography
Lacki obtained his doctorate in science from the University of Geneva in 1988. From 1990 to 1993 he pursued research at the School of Natural Sciences of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He then joined the interdisciplinary Unit of History and Philosophy of Sciences in the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Geneva, where he was appointed maître d'enseignement et de recherche in 1998 and professeur titulaire (full professor) from 7 November 2007.
Work
Lacki works on problems in contemporary theoretical physics together with the historical and philosophical aspects of physics and science more broadly. His research focuses on the history of relativity and quantum mechanics and their philosophical implications. He has studied the emergence of the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics, in particular the circumstances of the introduction of the Hilbert space formalism in 1926–1927 and the demonstrated equivalence between matrix mechanics and wave mechanics. His work also examines the philosophy of science of leading figures of the quantum revolution such as Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg and John von Neumann. He has additionally written on the history of Swiss theoretical physics, including studies of Walter Ritz and his theories.
Lacki is the author of some sixty publications and co-authored the biographical study E.C.G. Stueckelberg, An Unconventional Figure of Twentieth Century Physics (2009). He has also taken part in projects in Switzerland and internationally aimed at promoting science, its history and the public understanding of science.