I was asked last year to write a review for Physics Today magazine of famous entomologist Edward O. Wilson‘s book “Letters to a Young Scientist”. Wilson is emeritus faculty at Harvard University and is famous for his Pulitzer prize winning book “The Social Conquest of Earth”, as well as his television documentary “Lord of the Ants”.

While I enjoyed this book a great deal, it’s hardly the last word on recruiting young people into Physics (particularly because it’s mostly addressed to biologists!) As I know from my own experiences in encouraging undergraduate students to participate in my research program, this is a challenging task that all Physicists should pitch in to help with. Moreover, since the community of Physicists is still far from reflecting the broader population, we’ve got much to do to encourage underrepresented people to participate and feel comfortable.

You can read my review of the book on the Physics Today website

 

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