Professor Carl Bender, Editor-in-Chief, J. Phys. A

Professor Carl Bender, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General; Professor of Physics, Washington University in St Louis, USA

Q: Why did you decide to become a physicist?

A: My dad and my uncle were both inspiring high school physics teachers. (My uncle, Abe Bader, was Richard Feynman's teacher and I believe that my dad, Al Bender, was Julian Schwinger's teacher.) So, as a child I was exposed to exciting ideas in science. In college my strongest interests were in physics, applied maths, and chemistry, and I was very good in all three fields. However, it was when Ken Greisen, a distinguished cosmic ray physicist, took a personal interest in me and my career that I decided definitively to become a theoretical physicist.

Q: As Editor-in-Chief, what are your main aims for Journal of Physics A?

A: The Journal of Physics A is a first-rate journal with a long and distinguished history and I hope to make it better. Very simply, I would like to make it a journal that people READ as well as a journal to which they submit papers. I hope to accomplish this by raising the standards for acceptance for papers, enlarging the letters section, shortening the processing time for submitted papers, maintaining a distinguished Board of Editors, and producing great special issues and review articles. We have already made major progress towards accomplishing these goals.

Q: What book are you reading right now?

A: As I am on my way to speak at the Itzykson conference in Paris, I decided to brush up my French by reading 'Harry Potter a l'Ecole des Sorciers.'

Q: Who do you admire the most (past or present)?

A: The answer is unquestionably Einstein; no one else even comes close. Einstein was the master of theoretical physics. There are many mathematically consistent armchair theories of physics. However, most of these theories have no connection with physical reality. Einstein had an extraordinary ability to formulate beautiful mathematical theories that could in very short order be verified by experiment! Better yet, Einstein was very much a part of the human world as well as the scientific world. He was deeply concerned about the future of humankind and was a vocal advocate for world peace.

Q: If you could have any career other than your chosen profession, what would you choose?

A: When I was in high school, I was an accomplished clarinet player and I considered becoming a professional musician. It's good that I ultimately chose not to go in that direction because I probably wouldn't have been able to support myself as a clarinetist. However, chemistry was my first love in science, and I think that if I were not in physics, I would have made a tolerably good experimental chemist.

Q: What do you think will be the next significant breakthrough in science?

A: It is impossible to answer a question like this because the really big discoveries always seem to come from unexpected directions. I suppose that what I would like most is an understanding of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics is a strange and highly abstract theory in which one can calculate the answers to physical questions while at the same time not having a true understanding of the fundamental laws of the microscopic world. It would be wonderful if quantum mechanics could attain a solid conceptual footing.

Q: If you could have dinner with any 3 people, living or dead, who would they be?

A: My favorite three people are my wife and two kids, and these are the people with whom I most enjoy spending my time. I think that having dinner with a dead person could well spoil my appetite. Nevertheless, chowing down with Einstein, Newton, and Galileo might be fun because I would enjoy the many aha moments during the dinner table conversation.

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