
Ryan Dahn
I am a writer, editor, historian, researcher, and translator with interests in the history of science and technology and German history. Currently, I am the books editor at PHYSICS TODAY, the flagship physics magazine of the American Institute of Physics and the most influential physics magazine in the world.
At PHYSICS TODAY, I solicit and edit book reviews, edit feature articles, and contribute brief reviews of books, podcasts, films, and other content relating to the physical sciences to the magazine's New Books and Media section. I also write historical articles for the magazine's website.
My own historical work focuses on the interaction between scientists and the state, primarily in twentieth century Germany. I'm currently working on a book about the largely forgotten German theoretical physicist Pascual Jordan (1902-1980), tentatively titled Nazi Entanglement: Pascual Jordan, Quantum Mechanics, and the Legacy of the Third Reich.
Jordan was one of the founders of quantum mechanics in the 1920s, and while his contributions are fundamental to our understanding of the field today, he is also remembered for his decision to join the Nazi Party in 1933. Using a panoply of previously unknown archival sources, I describe in detail Jordan’s associations with far-right groups prior to Hitler’s seizure of power, his negotiations and machinations with various power centers in the Nazi state after 1933 and during World War II, as well as his political and pedagogical aims in postwar West Germany.
At PHYSICS TODAY, I solicit and edit book reviews, edit feature articles, and contribute brief reviews of books, podcasts, films, and other content relating to the physical sciences to the magazine's New Books and Media section. I also write historical articles for the magazine's website.
My own historical work focuses on the interaction between scientists and the state, primarily in twentieth century Germany. I'm currently working on a book about the largely forgotten German theoretical physicist Pascual Jordan (1902-1980), tentatively titled Nazi Entanglement: Pascual Jordan, Quantum Mechanics, and the Legacy of the Third Reich.
Jordan was one of the founders of quantum mechanics in the 1920s, and while his contributions are fundamental to our understanding of the field today, he is also remembered for his decision to join the Nazi Party in 1933. Using a panoply of previously unknown archival sources, I describe in detail Jordan’s associations with far-right groups prior to Hitler’s seizure of power, his negotiations and machinations with various power centers in the Nazi state after 1933 and during World War II, as well as his political and pedagogical aims in postwar West Germany.
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