Physicists
Some of the most famous physicists and their contributions to science are explained in this section. Learn famous physicists, such as Albert Einstein.
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Physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking was a fierce spirit who symbolized the foibles and complexities inherent in human nature. Learn more about him by taking our quiz.
The man immortalized on the left was behind the three laws of motion and the universal law of gravitation. He was also competitive, temperamental and fascinated with alchemy. How well do you know Newton?
He built President Eisenhower an indoor golf-training machine, analyzed the Zapruder film and searched for an Egyptian pyramid's treasure chamber using cosmic rays. Aren't you dying to meet this wide-ranging scientist?
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The man who had some theories about relativity was also an eccentric who gleefully eschewed socks, dodged German military service and spurned social conventions.
He ventured to the abyss of black holes, wagered on the information paradox and floated around in zero gravity. Meet the man, the legend, the super scientist: Stephen Hawking.
He was born exactly 300 years after Galileo died. He never won a Nobel Prize, although he was awarded a guest spot on "The Simpsons." What else do you know (or not know) about this acclaimed physicist?
By Jane McGrath
Having one Nobel Prize winner in the family is a huge accomplishment. But the extended Curie family had five winners - and one was even awarded twice. How did they get so smart?
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From astronauts to doctors to an archaeologist, we present eight scientists whose contributions to science, engineering and math were inseparable from their identities as Indigenous Americans.
By Dave Roos