Annual Report 2006-2007

This year Prof. Stachel continued his research in a number of topics in general relativity, resulting in a number of publications, some on technical physics topics and others on more philosophically and historically oriented topics. Stachel also gave several invited talks on his work: “Background Independence and Quantum Gravity,” Cosmology Seminar (University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, February 20, 2007); “The Search for Quantum Gravity,” Physics Colloquium (Lehigh University, March 22, 2007); “Einstein’s Odyssey: From Special to General Relativity,” Boston Colloquium for Philosophy and History of Science” (March 5, 2007). His publications include:

• “The Hole Argument for Covariant Theories,” (with Mihaela Iftime) GRG Journal General Relativity and Gravitation 38 : 1241-1252 (2006);
• “The First Two Acts,” in J ürgen Renn et al., eds., The Genesis of General Relativity, vol. 1, Einstein’s Zurich Notebook: Introduction and Source (Berlin: Springer 2007) pp. 81- 111;
• “Hilbert’s Foundation of Physics: From a Theory of Everything to a Constituent of General Relativity” (with Jürgen Renn), in Jürgen Renn and Matthias Schimmel, eds., The Genesis of General Relativity, vol 4, Gravitation in the Twilight of Classical Physics: The Promise of Mathematics (Berlin: Springer 2007), pp. 857-974;
• “The Story of Newstein: Or is Gravity Just Another Pretty Force?” in ibid., vol. 4, pp. 1041-1078;
• “Einstein’s Intuition and the Post-Newtonian Approximation,” in Hugo Garcia-Compeán et al., eds, Topics in Mathematical Physics, General Relativity and Cosmology (Singapore: World Scientific 2006) pp.453-467;
• “Einstein on the Military Mentality, and Rotblatt on the Culture of Violence,” in R. Braun et al. eds., Joseph Rotblatt: Visionary for Peace (Weinheim: Wiley- VCH Verlag 2007, pp. 241-244;
  review of Palle Yourgrau: A World Without Time: The Forgotten Legacy of G ödel and Einstein, Notices of the American Mathematical Society, August 2007, pp. 861-868;
• “Heady Days in Princeton”: Review of Steve Batterson: Pursuit of Genius Flexner, Einstein and the Early Faculty at the Institute for Advanced Study, Nature 445: 263 (2007);
• “‘What Song the Syrens Sang’ How Did Einstein Discover Special Relativity?,” reprinted in E = Einstein His Life His Thought, and His Influence on Our Culture (New York: Sterling Pub. 2006), pp. 157-172;
• “Albert Einstein: A Man for the Millenium?,” reprinted in Albert Einstein Century International Conference Paris France 18-22 July 2005, AIP Conference Proceedings, vol. 861 (Melville, NY: American Institute of Physics, 2006), pp. 211-243.