Science & Medicine

The great scientific progress we have witnessed in modern life has to a very large extent been dependent upon physical and mathematical advances, with the result that those who have been significant leaders in these fields may rightfully be considered as benefactors of society.

The number of Jewish benefactors is legendary. One immediately thinks of Albert Einstein and his theories of relativity. But he was not alone in his field. Richard Feynman, whose works in quantum mechanics earned him a Nobel Prize, and, of course, the “Father of the H-bomb”, Edward Teller, are also vital to the history of this field.

Although there will be a focus on these and other Americans, non-Americans of great prominence will not be overlooked. The museum will recognize Nobel Laureates such as Niels Bohr, James Franck (youngest of all Nobel Prize winners), Isaac Rabi (whose Nobel Prize was given for his work on molecular magnetic beam resonance), Steven Weinberg (quantum chromodynamics), Gustav Hertz (theory of atoms), Max Born, the great mathematical physicist, and many more.

These examples are drawn, by way of illustration, from the world of physics. Contributions to other fields of science will also be celebrated.

The contributions of Jewish scientists will be presented through original papers and letters, with films and lectures describing their work in words understandable by both young and older visitors, and in exciting and educational exhibits.

The contributions of Jews to the enrichment of the field of medicine have also been vast. Jewish doctors have had an enormously meaningful impact on modern medicine. The contributions of Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin in the development of the polio vaccine are one example.

In the past 10 years alone, 7 Jewish American physicians have been awarded Nobel Prizes. They are Alfred Gilman (1994), Martin Rodbell (1994), Stanley Prusiner (1997), Robert Furchgott (1998), Eric Kandel (2000), Sidney Brenner (2002), and H. Robert Horvitz (2002). Others go back as far as 1908. Indeed, 28% of the Nobel Prize winners in Physiology and Medicine have been Jewish.

One might consider as an example of a particular subfield of medicine, psychiatry, the history of which is inextricably linked to Jews, beginning with Sigmund Freud. Freud’s circle of psychiatrists and psychoanalysts was made up primarily of Jews - Alfred Adler, Karl Abraham, Hans Sachs, Joseph Breuer, and others. The tradition lives on to this day in America. Many of the great psychiatrists alive are American Jews. Irvin D. Yalom is but one example.

The Museum will collect original papers and other documents related to individuals such as these, and offer ongoing lecture series on them and their contributions to their field.