Walter H. G. Lewin - Best Physics Teacher Ever (Video)

Walter Lewin

Walter H. G. Lewin, Ph.D. (born January 29, 1936) is a Dutch astrophysicist and professor emeritus of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lewin achieved his Ph.D in nuclear physics in 1965 at the Delft University of Technology and came to MIT in 1966.

Lewin’s major contributions in astrophysics include the discovery of the first slowly rotating neutron star through all-sky balloon surveys, research in X-ray detection in investigations through satellites and observatories worldwide. Lewin is well known for his popular lectures on physics and massive online courses taught on edX and MIT OpenCourseWare.

Lewin is also an art enthusiast and collector. He has given a lecture at MIT “Looking at 20th Century Art through the Eyes of a Physicist – Walter Lewin (video)”. In the seventies and eighties, he collaborated with the artists Otto Piene (born in Germany), who was one of the founders of the ZERO movement and the director of MIT’s Center for Advanced Visual Studies, and Peter Struycken (Dutch) who is one of the leading computer artists in the world.