Richard M. Friedberg

Place: New York City

Born: 1935

Biography:

Richard M. Friedberg is a theoretical physicist who has contributed to a wide variety of problems in mathematics and physics. These include mathematical logic, number theory, solid state physics, general relativity, particle physics, quantum optics, genome research, and the foundations of quantum physics. He was born in New York City in 1935 and received his Bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1956 and his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Columbia University in 1962. He has held various academic positions, including postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (European Organization of Nuclear Research) in Geneva, assistant professor of physics at Columbia University, associate professor of physics at Barnard College, and professor of physics at Barnard College. He has also been a visiting member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He is known for his work on the Friedberg–Muchnik theorem in mathematical logic, which was proven independently by Albert Muchnik and Richard Friedberg in the middle of the 1950s. The theorem is a more general view of the Kleene–Post theorem and is notable for its use of the priority finite injury approach.