Robert Marc Friedman

Professor Emeritus
Image of Robert Marc Friedman
Norwegian version of this page
Mobile phone +47 916 39 068
Username
Postal address robertfr

Please see the Norwegian webpage for Professional Background, Honors, and related information.

For an up-to-date list of Selected Publication and other scholarly activity registered in CRISTIN, please consult the Norwegian webpage.

Ongoing and Planned Research and Public-Outreach Projects at IAKH

“Banned in Berlin”: a play about Einstein, the general theory of relativity, and the politics of science

Einstein and the Nobel Prize: a follow-up article on my earlier publications, esp. Nature (1981), related to bias against Einstein and his relativity theories in the Nobel Committee for Physics

“Victor Moritz Goldschmidt (1888-1947): Scientist, Immigrant, and Refugee”: a study of Goldschmidt’s major contributions to geochemistry and crystal chemistry as well as of pettiness, envy, and prejudice in Norwegian academic culture.  Support from PROFORSK, Norwegian Research Council

“Lise Meitner and the Struggles of a Moral Researcher” Screenplay for an animation film about  science, gender, and values. Support from Communication Project, The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation.

 

Tags: History, History of Science, History of Universities, Polar Hiistory, Historical Sociology of Knowledge, Diffusing historical scholarship through dramatization

Publications

  • "Nobel physics prize in perspective." Nature, 292 1981. 793-798.
  • Appropriating the Weather: Vilhelm Bjerknes and the Construction of a Modern Meteorology.
    Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1989; 1993.
  • The Expeditions of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup: Contexts for Shaping an Ocean Science. La Jolla, CA: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 1994.
  • "Civilization and national honour: The rise of Norwegian geophysical and cosmic science." Making Sense of Space: A History of Norwegian Space Activities. ed., J. P. Collett. Oslo: Scandinavian Universities Press, 1995. 3-39.
  • Integration and Visibility: Historiographic Challenges to University History. Occasional Papers 1/2000 Forum for University History, University of Oslo, 2000. 49 pp.
  • The Politics of Excellence: Behind the Nobel Prize in Science. New York: Freeman & Times Books, Henry Holt & Co., 2001. 400 pp. Chinese edition: Shanghai, 2005.
  • "La politica culturale del paesaggio celeste: Riflessioni su nuvole, aurora boreale e identità." Natura, cultura, identità: Le università e l'identità europea. ed., G. Pancaldi. Bologna: CIS-Università di Bologna, 2004. 59-78.
  • "Nansenismen" og "Å spise kirsbær med de store". Norsk Polarhistorie, Bind II Vitenskapene. eds., E.-A. Drivenes & H.D. Jølle. Oslo: Gyldendal, 2004. 107-174, 331-420.
  • Remembering Miss Meitner Drama. Göteborgs Stadsteater (2004-2010) og Radioteatern, Sveriges Radio (2004, 2006). Gjestespill, bl.a. Yale University (2009) & Maxim Gorki Theatre, Berlin (2010). Flere profesjonelle forestillinger på engelsk og italiensk.
  • Ricordando Lise Meitner: Dramma in un atto di scienza e tradimento. Bologna: Edizioni Pendragon, 2005.
  • Becoming Albert Einstein Drama. Forestillinger i Bergen og Oslo, 2005.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2022). The 100th Anniversary of Einstein's Nobel Prize: Facts and Fiction. Annalen der Physik. ISSN 0003-3804. doi: 10.1002/andp.202200305. Full text in Research Archive
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2021). "Vitenskapens kulturarv: Når merkevarebygging og skryt fortier historiske fakta". Fortid. ISSN 1504-1913.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2016). "The Cult of the Nobel: Time for a Change". Georgetown journal of international affairs. ISSN 1526-0054.
  • Doel, Ronald E.; Friedman, Robert Marc; Lajus, Julia; Sörlin, Sverker & Wråkberg, Urban (2014). Strategic Arctic science: national interests in building natural knowledge – interwar era through the Cold War. Journal of Historical Geography. ISSN 0305-7488. 44, p. 60–80. doi: 10.1016/j.jhg.2013.12.004.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Introduction: The Aurora in History". Acta Borealia. ISSN 0800-3831. 29(2), p. 115–118. doi: 10.1080/08003831.2012.732280.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Has the Swedish Academy of Sciences...seen nothing, heard nothing, and understood nothing?" The First World War, Biased Neutrality, and the Nobel Prizes in Science. In Letteval, Rebecka & Somsen, Geert (Ed.), Neutrality in Twentieth-Century Europe. Intersections of Science, Culture, and Politics after the First World War. Routledge. ISSN 978-0-415-89377-0. p. 90–114.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Balancing Act: Drama about Science based on History". In Grünzweig, Walter (Eds.), The SciArtist: Carl Djerassi's Science-in-Literature in Transatlantic and Interdisciplinary Contexts. LIT Verlag. ISSN 978-3-643-90231-3. p. 63–73.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Making Sense of the Aurora: A Research Project". Nordlit. ISSN 0809-1668. 29, p. 59–68. doi: 10.7557/13.2301. Full text in Research Archive
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). "Science, populist democracy and honour. The 1911 Centenary Celebration of the Royal Fredrick University in Kristiania". In Dhondt, Pieter (Eds.), National, Nordic or European? Nineteenth-Century University Jubilees and Nordic Cooperation. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 978 90 04 21694 5. p. 267–284. doi: 10.1163/9789004218307_012.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). Amundsen, Nansen, and the Question of Science: Dramatizing Historical Research on the Polar Heroic. Endeavour. ISSN 0160-9327. 35(4), p. 151–159. doi: 10.1016/j.endeavour.2011.08.004.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). "Fridtjof Nansen and the University, 1896-1911", Fridtjof Nansen Minneforelesninger 50 år. Novus Forlag. ISSN 978-82-7099-647-6. p. 188–210.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). "'Et forjættende symbol': Aulen,universitetet og folket". In Berman, Patricia G. & Anker, Peder (Ed.), Edvard Munchs aulamalerier. Fra kontroversielt prosjekt til nasjonalskatt. Messel Forlag. ISSN 978-82-7631-116-7. p. 25–45.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). Making the Aurora Norwegian: Science and Image in the Making of a Tradition. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews. ISSN 0308-0188. 35(1), p. 51–68. doi: 10.1179/030801810X12628670445464.

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  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2021). "Projecte Meitner. Una història de ciència i traïció". Bromera.. ISBN 978-84-1358-215-3. 86 p.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2021). "Proyecto Meitner. Una historia de ciencia y traición". Editions Algar. ISBN 978-84-9142-531-1. 86 p.

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  • Friedman, Robert Marc & Drivenes, Einar-Arne (2023). "Behov for en tenkepause: Er norsk polarforskning tjent med å bruke opp til 3 milliarder på en helårs forskningsstasjon?". [Newspaper]. Nordlys.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2023). "Goldschmidt: More than Just a Conference Name - New Insights, New Relevance." .
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2023). "Spatial innovation: Laurens Hammond's electric organ".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2022). Kronikk: "Nå må UiO beklage uretten mot Victor Moritz Goldschmidt". [Newspaper]. Uniforum.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2022). "The dramatic story behind general relativity's Nobel Prize snub". Advanced Science News.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2022). "The Politics of Nobel Excellence: The Lise Meitner Scandal, Then and Now". Session: "Injustice in Science".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2021). "Proyecto Meitner".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2021). "Utenlandske akademikere i Norge har vært et stridstema i over 100 år". Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). ISSN 0804-3116.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2021). "The Politics of Excellence: Demystifying the Nobel Prizes in Science".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2021). Feilaktige påstander og bombastisk skryt: Kristian Birkelands vitenskapelige bidrag er overdrevet . Forskning.no. ISSN 1891-635X.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2021). "Recordando a Lise Meitner" (Spansk fremføring av "Remembering Miss Meitner"). Teatro Rialto de Valencia. Mars 2021. Teatro Talia. Sept 2021.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2021). "Mujeres y premios: La política detrás del Nobel"/ "Women pioneers denied recognition: Lise Meitner and the Nobel Prize" (English with simultaneous translation into Spanish).
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2020). Debatt innlegg: "Goldschmidt-markering og realfags kulturarv". [Newspaper]. Uniforum.
  • JAKOBSEN, SIW ELLEN & Friedman, Robert Marc (2020). "Hvorfor ligger asken etter en av Norges viktigste naturforskere i en umerket grav i Oslo" (Om Viktor Moritz Goldschmidt). [Internet]. forskning.no.
  • Furst, Jessica & Friedman, Robert Marc (2020). The Documentary: "What has Nobel done for the world". [Radio]. BBC World Service.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2019). The Forum: "Fridtjof Nansen" . [Radio]. BBC World Service. London.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2019). "Fortid og drama: En balanse kunst. En diskusjon mellom Erik Poppe, Kjetil Bang-Hansen og Robert Marc Friedman".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2019). "Renewing the Legacy: Fridtjof Nansen and the Fram Expedition" Keynote Lecture at the launch of the 19-nation Arctic-climate-research expedition with the German "Polarstern". .
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2018). "From 'Transcendence' to 'Banned in Berlin': Theory and practice in dramatizing history of science".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2018). "Moseley and the politics of Nobel excellence". In Egdell, Russell G.; MacLeod, Roy & Bruton, Elizabeth (Ed.), For Science, King & Country: The Life and Legacy of Henry Moseley.. Uniform Press for Unicorn Publishing Group. ISSN 978-1-910500-71-2. p. 136–154.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2018). Angst og begjær i vitenskapens verden: Anmeldelse av "Losing the Nobel Prize" av Brian Keating. Forskningsetikk. ISSN 1502-6353. p. 28–29.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2017). "Birkeland Jubileum: Historie forfalskning i merkevarebyggings navn?".
  • Brookshire, Bethany & Friedman, Robert Marc (2017). "Explainer: The Nobel Prize. How the Olympics of Science Got Its Start". [Internet]. Science News for Students.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2017). "How Nobel favorites have fared". Physics today. ISSN 0031-9228.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2017). "Hvorfor Birkeland valgte Haldde?".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2017). "Det er ingen tvil om at Jacob Bjerknes pekte ut mål for atombomben. Men jeg tviler på om han visste hva han var med på". [Newspaper]. Dagbladet.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2016). "Close but no Nobel: The scientists who never won" Nature: News. Nature. ISSN 0028-0836. doi: 10.1038/nature.2016.20781.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2016). "Dei beskjedne heltane". [Journal]. Forskerforum - internett utgave.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2016). "Die ewig Nominierten". [Radio]. Deutschlandfunk.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2016). "Henry Moseley and the politics of Nobel excellence".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2016). 'Banned in Berlin': Harmonizing academic scholarship and dramatic theatricality.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2016). "History of Science on Stage: Beyond Hyperbole and Academic Appropriations".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2016). "Transcendence".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2016). "Creating a Visual Language for the Aurora: An Introduction".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2015). "Transcendence: Einstein, Kafka and Planck vs Time, Space and Conventions".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2015). "Wie bringt man Einstein auf die Bühne?". [Newspaper]. Der Tagesspiegel.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2015). "Politisk radikal Einstein på scena: Historieprofessor Robert Marc Friedman lagar teater av vitskap. Snart er han aktuell med teaterstykket «Transcendence», som viser nye sider av Einsteins relativitetsteori.". [Internet]. forskning.no.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2015). "Transcendence: Relativity and Its Discontents".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2015). "Transcendence: Relativity and Its Discontents".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2015). "Making Sense of the Aurora: A Report from the Research Front".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2015). "Dramatizing the history of science: Strategies, consequence, and why it matters".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2014). "Re-thinking the Nobel Science Prizes". ScienceNordic.com.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2014). "Remembering Miss Meitner".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2014). "Lectura de un imaginado monologo einsteiniano".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2014). "Science on stage, fully rehearsed". [Newspaper]. Times Higher Education (London).
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2014). Keynote Lecture: "Staging Science: Beyond Hyperbole and Academic Appropriations".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2014). Keynote Lecture: "Contextualizing Science: Migration of Knowledge and Peoples (With Special Attention to Prague)".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2013). "Harald Ulrik Sverdrup: Another Kind of Polar Hero".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2013). "Balancing Acts: Drama about Science based on History".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2013). "På gjensyn med Vilhelm Bjerknes".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2013). "Frozen in the ice - polar research then and now". [Internet]. ScienceNordic.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "From the research front to centre stage: Scholarship and artistry in dramatizing history of science".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Is the Nobel Prize a Boys Mostly Club?". [Radio]. National Public Radio; Washington, D.C..
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Why do Nobel Prizes Reign Supreme?". [Internet]. Physics Central: American Physical Society.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Remembering Miss Meitner: History, Memory, and the Future of Physics".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Do Nobelovy medaile se vrylo mnhoho lidksych slabosti". Dějiny a současnost : kulturně historická revue. ISSN 0418-5129. 34(10), p. 22–25.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Amundsen vs Nansen" Forestilling med bl.a. Hallvard Holmen og Gard Eidsvold spilles på forskjellige teater og kulturhus i Nord-Norge, Sørlandet og Østlandet; Litteraturhuset i Oslo. Manus skrevet av RMF; urfremføring ved Hålogaland Teater des 2011.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Remembering Miss Meitner" Gjestespill ved Liseberg Teater, Göteborg, i forbindelse med European Physical Society møte om atom fysikk. 11.07.2012.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Imperfect Excellence: The Nobel Prizes and the European Periphery".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Amundsen, Nansen, and the Question of Science: Dramatizing Historical Research on the Polar Heroic".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Environmental science during the Cold War: The need and opportunity for trans-national, multi-disciplinary collaborations".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). "Et skuespill om Amundsen og Nansen". [Radio]. NRK P-2 Ekko .
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2012). Introduction: The Aurora in History. Acta Borealia. ISSN 0800-3831. 29(2), p. 115–118. doi: 10.1080/08003831.2012.732280.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). "Om å dramatisere historisk forskning".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). "Amundsen vs Nansen".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). "Icy shadows: American Cold-War concerns and the shaping of Norwegian polar research policy".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). Keynote Lecture. "The Politics of Excellence: The Meaning of the Nobel Prizes in Science".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). "Nansenismen".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). "Making Sense of the Aurora: Themes from a Collaborative Project".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). Keynote Lecture. "Marie Curie's 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: The Politics of Excellence".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). "Regionality and multi-disciplinarity: Visions for new collaborative ideals in history of science".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). "Mytedannelse om forskningens betydning [om Kr. Birkeland]". Apollon : Forskningsmagasin for Universitetet i Oslo. ISSN 0803-6926. p. 22–23.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2011). "På sporet etter Amundsen". [Newspaper]. Dagsavisen.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). "Meitner".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). "The Meaning of Meitner in Sweden: Concluding Remarks".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). "Making the Aurora Norwegian".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). Seeing Science: The Sight/Insight of Scandinavian Art. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews. ISSN 0308-0188. 35(1), p. 5–6. doi: 10.1179/030801810X12628670445347.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). Review of "Weather by Numbers: The Genesis of Modern Meteorology" by Kristine C. Harper. Isis. ISSN 0021-1753. 101(1), p. 257–258.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). "Dramatisk stykke om Lise Meitner spilles i Oslo". [Radio]. NRK P2 Søndagsavisa.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). "Dramatisk svik" (om "Remembering Miss Meitner"). [Newspaper]. Uniforum.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). "Meitner: Kvinnen, Fysikken, Sviket" Gjestespill fra Göteborgs Stadsteater. Chateau Neuf. 11-12.04.2010.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). "Minns Ni Fröken Meitner" Göteborgs Stadsteater. 07-08.04.2010 & 01-02.10.2010.
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). "Arctic visionaries: The case of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). "Making the aurora Norwegian".
  • Friedman, Robert Marc (2010). "On the relations between (history of) science and drama.".

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Published Dec. 14, 2010 2:36 PM - Last modified July 27, 2023 10:36 AM

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