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Bryce DeWitt
 
 
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Bryce Seligman DeWitt (January 8,1923 – September 23, 2004) was a theoretical physicist renown for advancing gravity and field theories. He systematically approached the quantization of general relativity, in particular, developed canonical quantum gravity and manifestly covariant methods that use the heat kernel
Heat kernel

The heat kernel is* a fundamental solution to the heat equation.* a sum used in heat kernel regularization....
. B. DeWitt formulated the Wheeler-deWitt equation
Wheeler-deWitt equation

In theoretical physics, the Wheeler-deWitt equation is a Functional derivative equation. It is ill defined in the general case, but very important in theoretical physics, especially in quantum gravity....
 for the wavefunction
Wavefunction

A wave function or wavefunction is a mathematical tool used in quantum mechanics to describe any physical system. It is a function from a mathematical space that maps the possible states of the system into the complex numbers....
 of the Universe
Universe

The universe is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and physical constants that govern them....
 with John Archibald Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler

John Archibald Wheeler was an eminent United States theoretical physicist. One of the later collaborators of Albert Einstein, he tried to achieve Einstein's vision of a unified field theory....
 and advanced the formulation of the Hugh Everett
Hugh Everett

Hugh Everett III was an American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, which he called his "relative state" formulation....
's many-worlds interpretation
Many-worlds interpretation

The many-worlds interpretation is an interpretation of quantum mechanics.It is also known as MWI, the relative state formulation, theory of the universal wavefunction, parallel universes, many-universes interpretation or just many worlds....
 of quantum mechanics.






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Bryce Seligman DeWitt (January 8,1923 – September 23, 2004) was a theoretical physicist renown for advancing gravity and field theories. He systematically approached the quantization of general relativity, in particular, developed canonical quantum gravity and manifestly covariant methods that use the heat kernel
Heat kernel

The heat kernel is* a fundamental solution to the heat equation.* a sum used in heat kernel regularization....
. B. DeWitt formulated the Wheeler-deWitt equation
Wheeler-deWitt equation

In theoretical physics, the Wheeler-deWitt equation is a Functional derivative equation. It is ill defined in the general case, but very important in theoretical physics, especially in quantum gravity....
 for the wavefunction
Wavefunction

A wave function or wavefunction is a mathematical tool used in quantum mechanics to describe any physical system. It is a function from a mathematical space that maps the possible states of the system into the complex numbers....
 of the Universe
Universe

The universe is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and physical constants that govern them....
 with John Archibald Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler

John Archibald Wheeler was an eminent United States theoretical physicist. One of the later collaborators of Albert Einstein, he tried to achieve Einstein's vision of a unified field theory....
 and advanced the formulation of the Hugh Everett
Hugh Everett

Hugh Everett III was an American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, which he called his "relative state" formulation....
's many-worlds interpretation
Many-worlds interpretation

The many-worlds interpretation is an interpretation of quantum mechanics.It is also known as MWI, the relative state formulation, theory of the universal wavefunction, parallel universes, many-universes interpretation or just many worlds....
 of quantum mechanics. With his student Larry Smarr
Larry Smarr

Larry Smarr is a physicist and leader in scientific computing, supercomputer applications, and Internet infrastructure.He received both his BA and MS at the University of Missouri?Columbia and received a Ph.D....
 he originated the field of numerical relativity
Numerical relativity

Numerical relativity is one of the branches of general relativity that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems. To this end, supercomputers are often employed to study black holes, gravitational waves, neutron stars and many other phenomena governed by Albert Einstein General theory of relativity....
.

He received his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard University
Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the Colonial Colleges institution of higher learning in the United States....
. His Ph.D. (1950) supervisor was Julian S. Schwinger. Afterwards he worked at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study

The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is a center for theoretical research. The Institute is perhaps best known as the academic home of Albert Einstein, John von Neumann, and Kurt G?del, after their immigration to the United States....
, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public university research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, North Carolina, United States....
 and the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a public university research university located in Austin, Texas, Texas, United States, and is the flagship#University campuses institution of University of Texas System....
. He was awarded the Dirac Prize
Dirac Prize

The Dirac Prize is the name of three prominent awards in the field of theoretical physics, computational chemistry, and mathematics, awarded by different organizations....
 in 1987, the American Physical Society
American Physical Society

The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft....
's Einstein Prize
Einstein Prize (APS)

The Einstein Prize is a biennial prize, awarded by the American Physical Society since 2003. The recipient is chosen for "outstanding accomplishments in the field of gravitational physics"....
 in 2005, and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine."...
 and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

He was born Carl Bryce Seligman but changed his name in the 1950s. He served in World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 as a naval aviator. He was married to accomplished mathematical physicist Cécile DeWitt-Morette. He died September 23, 2004 from pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a cancer of the pancreas. Each year in the United States, about 37,680 individuals are diagnosed with this condition and 34,290 die from the disease each year....
 at the age of 81.

Books

  • Bryce DeWitt, Dynamical theory of groups and fields, Gordon and Breach, New York, 1965
  • Bryce DeWitt, R. Neill Graham, eds., The Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, Princeton Series in Physics, Princeton University Press
    Princeton University Press

    The Princeton University Press is an independent Academic publishing with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large....
     (1973), ISBN 0-691-08131-X.
  • Bryce DeWitt, The Global Approach to Quantum Field Theory, The International Series of Monographs on Physics, Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press

    Oxford University Press is a publisher and a department of the University of Oxford in England. It is the largest university press in the world, being larger than all the American university presses combined with Cambridge University Press....
     (2003), ISBN 978-0198510932.
  • S. M. Christensen, ed., Quantum theory of gravity. Essays in honor of the 60th birthday of Bryce S. DeWitt, Adam Hilger, Bristol, 1984
  • "Sopra un raggio di luce", Di Renzo Editore, Roma, 2005


External links

  • , International Centre for Theoretical Physics
    International Centre for Theoretical Physics

    The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics was founded in 1964 by Pakistani scientist Abdus Salam . It operates under a tripartite agreement among the Government of Italy, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and International Atomic Energy Agency and provides advanced studies and researches...
  • , American Physical Society
    American Physical Society

    The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft....