:RUOG6FLHQWLÀF Newsletter No. 39 • October 2014 World Scientific publishes acclaimed new book Fields Medallists’ Lectures, 3rd Edition edited by Sir Michael Atiyah (University of Edinburgh, UK), Daniel Iagolnitzer (CEA-Saclay, France), Chitat Chong (National University of Singapore) John W. MilnorEnrico Bombieri Gerd Faltings Andrei Okounkov Terence Tao Cédric Villani Elon Lindenstrauss Ngô Båo Châu Stanislav Smirnov Manjul Bhargava Martin Hairer lthough the Fields Medal does not have the same public The third edition of Fieldsds recognition as the Nobel Prize, they share a similar Medallists’ Lectures featuress Aintellectual standing. It is restricted to one field — that additional contributions from: of mathematics. The medal is awarded to the best mathematicians John W. Milnor (1962), Enricoo who are 40 or younger, every four years. Bombieri (1974), Gerd Faltingsgs A list of Fields Medallists and their contributions provides (1986), Andrei Okounkov (2006), TTerence TTao (2006)(2006), CédCédrici a bird’s eye view of the major developments in mathematics Villani (2010), Elon Lindenstrauss (2010), Ngô Båo Châu over the past 80 years. It highlights the areas in which, at (2010), Stanislav Smirnov (2010), Manjul Bhargava (2014) and various times, the greatest progress has been made. Martin Hairer (2014). At approximately 1000 pages, this new edition will be published in two volumes. The Lives and Works of 33 Nobel Laureates in Crystallography presented in new book From a Grain of Salt to the Ribosome his book is published to Sweden), Anders Liljas (Lund University, Sweden), Sven Lidin celebrate the Interna- (Lund University, Sweden), From a Grain of Salt to the T tional Year of Crystall- Ribosome: The History of Crystallography as Seen Through the ography 2014, as proclaimed by Lens of the Nobel Prize describes the lives and works of 33 Nobel the United Nations. 2014 has Laureates, starting with Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1901) and been chosen as the International ending with Brian Kobilka (2012). It also reproduces the most Year of Crystallography since it important works of these scientists. The book gives a historical was 100 years ago that the first perspective of a scientific field that is important for our NobelN Prize was awarded for understanding of the atomic organization of the world around crystallographiccrrysstallographicc observationso to Max von Laue. us, from inorganic materials to complex biological molecules. Just a year later, Sir William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence There is no other book with such a selection of rich material Bragg, father and son, won their prize for showing the possibility and it is a timely summary of the main developments in of determining atomic positions in crystals. crystallography over the last 100 years. Edited by Professors Ivar Olovsson (Uppsala University, Top New Titles Remembering the “Father of Fractals” Professor Benoit Mandelbrot Benoit Mandelbrot: A Life in Many Dimensions is a collection of articles edited by Professors Michael Frame (Yale University, USA) and Nathan Cohen (Fractal Antenna Systems, Inc., USA). Many of these articles were written by people who worked with Professor Benoit Mandelbrot, memorializing the remarkable breadth and depth of his work in science and the arts. Contributors include mathematicians, physicists, biologists, economists, and engineers; and also artists, musicians, teachers, a historian, an architect, a filmmaker, and a comic. Also included are articles on fractals and music by Charles Wuorinen and Harlan J. Brothers; fractals and finance by Richard Hudson and Christian Walter; fractal invisibility cloaks by Nathan Cohen; and a personal reminiscence by his wife, Aliette Mandelbrot. While he is known most widely for his work in mathematics and finance, Prof. Mandelbrot influenced almost every field of modern intellectual activity. No other book captures the breadth of all of his accomplishments. World Scientific Newsletter Scientific World 2 Upcoming Book on Quantum Field Theory by the esteemed “physicist’s physicist” Professor Sidney Coleman edited by Bryan Gin-ge Chen (Leiden University, Netherlands), Yuan-Sen Ting (Harvard University, USA), Richard Sohn (University of Chicago, USA), David Derbes (University of Chicago, USA) lthough Professor Sidney Coleman is largely unknown outside of the theoretical physics community, and known only by reputation to the A younger generation, he was an unusually effective teacher, famed for his wit, insight and encyclopedic knowledge of the field to which he made many important contributions. There are many first-rate quantum field theory books (the ancient Bjorken and Drell, the more modern Itzykson and Zuber, the now-standard Peskin and Schroder, and the recent Zee), but the immediacy of Prof. Coleman’s approach and his ability to present an argument simply without sacrificing rigor makes Quantum Field Theory: Lectures of Sidney Coleman easy to read and ideal for the student. Part of the motivation in producing this book is to pass on the work of this outstanding physicist to later generations, a record of his teaching that he was too busy to leave himself. Book Reviews Time in Powers of Ten by Nobel Laureate Professor Gerard ‘t Hooft “The somewhat facetious narrating style and the abundance “The authors introduce of illustrations are so inviting and rather addictive once you the reader to the diversityy picked up the book.” of nature in a novel wayy European Mathematical Society by describing typical andd interesting phenomena “Pleasingly accessible volume that will give pleasure to aca- that occur or have oc- demics, students, connoisseurs of coffee-table books and curred on many differentt even the people who compile questions for Trivial Pursuit time scales. The time … Can be enjoyed as a source of scientific stories and images, scales considered differr as an unusual perspective on history, as a popular account by powers of ten, as the of modern physics, and so on. Underneath them all is a title of the book says, from theh shortesth timesi off whichhi h we wealth of serious science that will give readers insights into have knowledge to the longest. I am sure many readers will abstract fundamental ideas via concrete realities … Every enjoy the book as I have.” science teacher would benefit from reading Time in Powers Edward Witten of Ten, but I hope it will have an even wider reach.” Fields Medalist Times Higher Education “Time is an essential dimension of life. Indeed, its remarkable and awesome variation of scale shapes the natural world. “The authors have compiled a refreshing mix of historical This book by Gerard ‘t Hooft and Stefan Vandoren gives us anecdotes and examples from music to sport and biology an exposé of a wide range of natural phenomena and their to astronomy to lighten up the heavier taste of particle associated time scales, spanning the very small, the very large, physics and cosmology… It is both an enjoyable read and and the life events of our universe. The book is elegantly very pleasant to browse at leisure… It fully conveys the Newsletter Scientific World illustrated and should be an enjoyable read for anyone authors’ amazement at — as Feynman put it — our 3 interested in a deeper understanding of the fourth dimension, fantastically marvellous universe.” time, and how it shapes our lives.” Nature Physics Ahmed Zewail Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 4D Visualization of Matter by Nobel Laureate Professor Ahmed H. Zewail “The dazzling brilliance of the photon-induced near-field electron microscopy PINEM) to technical virtuosity required to all the numerous modes of recording “static” information achieve ultrafast electron such as electron tomography, bright- and dark-field, as well microscopy at the femtosecond as electron loss imaging, Kikuchi diffraction etc., opens up time-scale, while also reaching yet further horizons in the dynamics of condensed matter near-atomic resolution, alone and in the fields of plasmonics and cell biology. makes this monograph This monograph constitutes a uniquely powerful approach compelling reading. to the revelation of the cornucopia of hidden secrets of the Additionally, it chronicles how a vast range of biological, natural world.” physical, technological and medically-significant phenomena Sir John Meurig Thomas, FRS, FREng has become accessible through the technique of 4D electron Professor of Materials Science microscopy. Former Head of Physical Chemistry Much can be gleaned about the mechanisms of biochemical Former Master of Peterhouse and other processes through structural X-ray crystallography University of Cambridge and gas-phase mass spectroscopy. But 4D electron Former Director microscopy, with the addition of new procedures (such as Royal Institution of Great Britain, London Book Reviews Risk A Study of Its Origins, History and Politics by Matthias Beck (Queen’s University, United Kingdom), Beth Kewell (University of Stavanger, Norway) “Practitioners in the field looking to broaden their reading may find value in this study of thehe changing concepts and theories of risk.” Times Higher Educationon “This opportune book provides a comprehensive interpretation of ideas and concepts of risk.sk. While global risks transcend national boundaries and fail to fit neatly within disciplinaryry confines, most books remain rooted in these frames; giving this work a special place. Risk: A Study of its Origins, History and Politics provides illuminating and inspirational reading whichch will expand readers’ horizon and further their understanding of the theoretical