The legacy of Léon van Hove (Q2701800)

The Legacy of Léon Van Hove is a remarkable book on a great scientist actively engaged in the impressive developments in science and technology characterizing the last fifty years of the 20th century. An attempt is made to highlight the exceptional talents of the man, the historical context of his endeavor and the qualities of the volume. NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEThe man first: issued from a modest Belgian school-teacher family, he started his research as a mathematician at the Brussels University, turned to theoretical physics and as a very young professor he became director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Utrecht first, leader of the Theory Division at CERN in Geneva and CERN's Research Director General, then. In the meantime, he followed Heisenberg at the head of the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich and served in the European Space Agency in Paris, elaborating a long-term European space research program. NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEHis scientific research is exceptionally wide: from group theory in mathematics to theoretical physics in solid state, neutron diffraction, quantum field theory, statistical mechanics, multiparticle dynamics at high energies and its cosmological implications, ranging from fundamental mathematical physics to phenomenology in close collaboration with experimental physicists. No less than three Nobels can be considered as directly connected with his views: Rubbia, van der Meer and Veltman. NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEAs manager he was typical a director, who stimulated the interaction among people enlarging the structures towards modern forms of organization: at the University of Utrecht, at CERN and in the Max Planck Society. He always had a clear-cut own vision, while he still listened to the people involved. As a teacher he was great, as a person very friendly to everybody, but selective in his closer relations. NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEThe historical frame of his life is characterized by the fundamental change in the relevance of physics within society taking place after World War Two. At the beginning, research took mainly place at the universities and was limited to few persons. Nowadays, it also occurs within multinational programs involving thousands of people, requiring years of planning and huge amounts of money. The theoretical work based on `paper and pencil' now requires powerful computers and the need of communication among the people involved. This has been at the roots, at CERN, of the World Wide Web and of the present Internet, who changed the human relations in the whole society. NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEFinally, the book: It is a mirror of the many facets mentioned above, the scientist, the teacher, the director, the advisor and the man. All these aspects are presented by persons who have been directly involved in the corresponding research or organization. The most relevant publications, included as reprint, are introduced by their comments. The editor, Alberto Giovannini, a close colleague and friend of Léon Van Hove, was able to get the collaboration of the right person at the right place, and he also included the personal views of Léon himself. This volume, centered on but not limited to Léon Van Hove, gives an impressive fresco of science and society during the last half century.