Freeman Dyson aged 96 passed away on February 28, 2020. Although ‘Mr’ Dyson (he was a big critic of the modern PhD system) made major contributions to The Manhattan Project, Quantum Electrodynamics, solid state physics and astronomy he is probably best know for his “Dyson Sphere”, a hypothetical structure an advanced civilization would build around their star to catch all the light to use for power.
This structure became a common meme in Sci-Fi stories. (e.g. Larry Niven’s “Ringworld” series and the STNG episode “Relics” the one where they find Scotty) He worked for most of his career at the Institute for Advanced Studies and was a good friend of Richard Feynman. His autobiography “Disturbing the Universe” was a very good read.
He is was the father of Ester Dyson (high tech angel investor) and author George Dyson (“Turing’s Cathedral”) which I would also recomend.
