A Physicists Labour In War And Peace

This informative book covers the pre-war WWII period to the 1990s, spanning the author’s experience of the rise of Nazism on the continent, his research, and his involvement in the planning of science and higher education in Britain. He gives a wry commentary on education and science in Britain, and describes his role in pressing for adequate funding for science, especially during the Thatcher era. He writes about some of the famous scientists he has met, and also of his disappointments facing a working scientist. This is not a rounded autobiography. Much of the book is concerned with Kellermann’s research in solid state and cosmic ray physics and his interaction with outstanding physicists of the time, notably his work with Karl Przibram in Vienna and later with Max Born, Patrick Blackett and E C Stoner, and his meetings with C F Powell in Great Britain. There is also an account of his meeting with Max Planck, his discussions with the later atom spy Klaus Fuchs and other notable scientists of the period. It is concerned also with British science policy and Kellermann’s commitment to promote support for science by British governments of the day. But a life in physics spanning the second half of the 20th century is also likely to be a life deeply marked by warfare, anti-Semitism, and disruption.