Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

Christian Joas

Research Scholar

Dr.

Funded by the Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Residence: February 15, 2007 - November 30, 2012


Profile

Research interests:

History of science;
History of physics;
History of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory;
History of condensed-matter physics;
History of debates about emergence and reductionism.

Current work:

The genesis of wave mechanics: Erwin Schrödinger's research notebooks;
The transfer of concepts between high-energy and condensed-matter physics and the advent of quantum field theoretical methods in solid-state physics.

Curriculum Vitae:

since Oct. 2009 | Research scholar (wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, FHI, Theory Department)
2007-2009 | Postdoctoral research fellow (MPIWG, Dept. I)
2007 | PhD in theoretical physics (Freie Universität Berlin)
2006-2007 | Research Associate (German Israeli Foundation) within the project "Morphology of Nodal Sets"
2002-2007 | PhD student DFG priority programme "Quantum Hall Systems"

Selected publications

Joas, Christian; Lehner, Christoph. "The classical roots of wave mechanics : Schrödinger's transformations of the optical-mechanical analogy. " Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 40 (4 2009)

Joas, Christian; Lehner, Christoph; Renn, Jürgen (Editor/s). HQ-1 : Conference on the history of quantum physics (Vol. I&II). Berlin: Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, 2008.

Badino, Massimiliano; Borrelli, Arianna; Büttner, Jochen; Castagnetti, Giuseppe; Hoffmann, Dieter; Joas, Christian; Kant, Horst; Lehner, Christoph; Renn, Jürgen; Rieger, Simone; Schirrmacher, Arne; Schoepflin, Urs; Wazeck, Milena (Editor/s). Max Planck : Revolutionär wider Willen ; eine kleine Geschichte der Quantentheorie und ihres Begründers ; [eine Ausstellung der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Deutschen Technikmuseum Berlin anläßlich des 150. Geburtstages von Max Planck , 26.4.-5.10.2008]. Heidelberg: Spektrum der Wissenschaft Verlagsges., 2008.

Joas, Christian. "James Franck - Aufrecht im Sturm der Zeit. Review of: Lemmerich, J. : Aufrecht im Sturm der Zeit: der Physiker James Franck, 1882-1964. Diepholz: GNT Verl. 2007. " Physik-Journal 7 (10 2008)

Talks and presentations

2009
Kopenhagener Deutung und dialektischer Materialismus (with Martin Jähnert) – 92. Jahrestagung der DGGMNT, Hannover, September 27, 2009, Seesion "Dialektik mit und ohne Dogma: Physik und dialektischer Materialismus in der DDR"
2009
Interacting Fields—Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Field Theory, and the Conceptual Borderlands Between Solid-State and Particle Physics – Niels Bohr Archive History of Science Seminar, Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark, June 18, 2009 (also held in Campina Grande, Brazil, December 2008 and ICHST Budapest, August 2009)
2008
The Genesis of Wave Mechanics: The Role of Hamilton's Optical-Mechanical Analogy in Schrödinger's Reserach Program – Videnskabshistorisk Selskab (Danish Society for the History of Science), Copenhagen, Denmark, October 21, 2008
2008
Schrödinger’s Optical-Mechanical Analogy: Biography of a Research Program (with Christoph Lehner) – HQ-2 coneference on the history of quantum physics, Utrecht, the Netherlands, July 16, 2008
2008
Max Planck und die Quantenphysik im Blick der Wissenschaftsgeschichte – Deutsches Technikmuseum, Berlin, June 14, 2008

Teaching activities

2008
Seminar on the history of quantum mechanics (Lehrseminar), FU Berlin
2007
Quantum Mechanics, FU Berlin
2002-2006
Numerous courses (Tutorien) on theoretical physics (theoretical mechanics, mathematical methods, quantum mechanics, advanced quantum mechanics, solid-state theory), FU Berlin