Robert Resnick

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Robert Resnick (1923 - ) was a well respected physics educator and author of physics textbooks.

He received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University in 1943 and his Ph.D. in physics in 1949 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He became a professor at Rensselaer and was head of the interdisciplinary science curriculum for 15 years. He received the Oersted Medal (1974), the highest award given by the American Association of Physics Teachers, and was president of that society from 1986-1990. As well as being a Fulbright Scholar, he was also an honorary research fellow and visiting professor at Harvard University (1964-65). Other awards include that of being a Honorary Visiting Professor to the People's Republic of China (1981 and 1985), the Exxon Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching (1954), the RPI Distinguished Faculty Award (1971), Outstanding Educator of the Year (1972), a fellow of the American Physical Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma XI honorary societies.

During his years at RPI, he co-authored seven textbooks on relativity, quantum physics, and general physics, which have been translated into more than 47 languages. It is estimated that over seven million students have studied from his books.[1]

The most widely read of his works was the one he co-authored with David Halliday, the first-year textbook Physics (1960), which many consider to have revolutionized physics education. Now in its 7th edition in a 5 volume set, revised by Jearl Walker, and under the title Fundamentals Of Physics it is still highly regarded. It is noted for its clear standardized diagrams, very thorough but highly coherent and readable pedagogy, outlook into modern physics, and challenging, thought provoking problems. In 2002, the American Physical Society named the work the most outstanding introductory physics text of the 20th century.

Upon his retirement in 1993, he was RPI's commencement speaker and a special nationally sponsored International Meeting in Physics Education was held in his honor. His mark still remains at RPI, which created the Robert Resnick Center for Physics Education in his honor, as well as the "Resnick Memorial Lecture", a special lecture each year where a prominent scientist visits the school; past speakers have included Carl Sagan and Kip Thorne (2005). He was adopted into Rensselaer's Hall of Fame in 2003.

Positions Held

President's Fund Scholar at Johns Hopkins (1946-49)
Faculty of Physics, U. of Pittsburgh (1949-56)
Board of National Commission on College Physics (1960-68)
Advisory Board project Physical Science for Non-Scientists (1964-68)
Co-Director for the national project on Physics Demonstration Experiments(1962-70)
Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, (1956?-1974)
Edward P. Hamilton Distinguished Professor of Science Education at RPI, (1974-93)
Advisory Editor, John Wiley & Sons publishers (1967-1983)
Chairman Interdisciplinary Science Curriculum, RPI (1973-1988)
President of American Association of Physics Teachers (1986-89)