1. Classical Period
William Gilbert
1544-1603
English
hypothesized that the Earth is a giant magnet
Galileo Galilei
1564-1642
Italian
performed fundamental observations, experiments, and mathematical analyses in astronomy
and physics; discovered mountains and craters on the moon, the phases of Venus, and the four
largest satellites of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede
Willebrod Snell
1580-1626
Dutch
discovered law of refraction (Snell's law)
Blaise Pascal
1623-1662
French
discovered that pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted undiminished to every part
of the fluid and to the walls of its container (Pascal's principle)
Christiaan
Huygens
1629-1695
Dutch
proposed a simple geometrical wave theory of light, now known as ``Huygen's principle'';
pioneered use of the pendulum in clocks
Robert Hooke
1635-1703
English
discovered Hooke's law of elasticity
Sir Isaac
Newton
1643-1727
English
developed theories of gravitation and mechanics, and invented differential calculus
Daniel Bernoulli
1700-1782
Swiss
developed the fundamental relationship of fluid flow now known as Bernoulli's principle
Benjamin
Franklin
1706-1790
American
the first American physicist; characterized two kinds of electric charge, which he named
``positive'' and ``negative''
Leonard Euler
1707-1783
Swiss
made fundamental contributions to fluid dynamics, lunar orbit theory (tides), and mechanics;
also contributed prolifically to all areas of classical mathematics
Henry
Cavendish
1731-1810
British
discovered and studied hydrogen; first to measure Newton's gravitational constant; calculated
mass and mean density of Earth
Charles
Augustin de
Coulomb
1736-1806
French
experiments on elasticity, electricity, and magnetism; established experimentally nature of the
force between two charges
Joseph-Louis
Lagrange
1736-1813
French
developed new methods of analytical mechanics
James Watt
1736-1819
Scottish
invented the modern condensing steam engine and a centrifugal governor
Count
Alessandro
Volta
1745-1827
Italian
pioneer in study of electricity; invented the first electric battery
Joseph Fourier
1768-1830
French
established the differential equation governing heat diffusion and solved it by devising an
infinite series of sines and cosines capable of approximating a wide variety of functions
Thomas Young
1773-1829
British
studied light and color; known for his double-slit experiment that demonstrated the wave nature
of light
Jean-Babtiste
Biot
1774-1862
French
studied polarization of light; co-discovered that intensity of magnetic field set up by a current
flowing through a wire varies inversely with the distance from the wire
André Marie
Ampère
1775-1836
French
father of electrodynamics
Amadeo
Avogadro
1776-1856
Italian
developed hypothesis that all gases at same volume, pressure, and temperature contain same
number of atoms
Johann Carl
Friedrich Gauss
1777-1855
German
formulated separate electrostatic and electrodynamical laws, including ``Gauss' law'';
contributed to development of number theory, differential geometry, potential theory, theory of
terrestrial magnetism, and methods of calculating planetary orbits

2. Hans Christian
Oersted
1777-1851
Danish
discovered that a current in a wire can produce magnetic effects
Sir David
Brewster
1781-1868
English
deduced ``Brewster's law'' giving the angle of incidence that produces reflected light which is
completely polarized; invented the kaleidoscope and the stereoscope, and improved the
spectroscope
Augustin-Jean
Fresnel
1788-1827
French
studied transverse nature of light waves
Georg Ohm
1789-1854
German
discovered that current flow is proportional to potential difference and inversely proportional to
resistance (Ohm's law)
Michael Faraday
1791-1867
English
discovered electromagnetic induction and devised first electrical transformer
Felix Savart
1791-1841
French
co-discovered that intensity of magnetic field set up by a current flowing through a wire varies
inversely with the distance from the wire
Sadi Carnot
1796-1832
French
founded the science of thermodynamics
Joseph Henry
1797-1878
American
performed extensive fundamental studies of electromagnetic phenomena; devised first practical
electric motor
Christian
Doppler
1803-1853
Austrian
experimented with sound waves; derived an expression for the apparent change in wavelength
of a wave due to relative motion between the source and observer
Wilhelm E.
Weber
1804-1891
German
developed sensitive magnetometers; worked in electrodynamics and the electrical structure of
matter
Sir William
Hamilton
1805-1865
Irish
developed the principle of least action and the Hamiltonian form of classical mechanics
James Prescott
Joule
1818-1889
British
discovered mechanical equivalent of heat
Armand-
Hippolyte-Louis
Fizeau
1819-1896
French
made the first terrestrial measurement of the speed of light; invented one of the first
interferometers; took the first pictures of the Sun on daguerreotypes; argued that the Doppler
effect with respect to sound should also apply to any wave motion, particularly that of light
Jean-Bernard-
Léon Foucault
1819-1868
French
accurately measured speed of light; invented the gyroscope; demonstrated the Earth's rotation
Sir George
Gabriel Stokes
1819-1903
British
described the motion of viscous fluids by independently discovering the Navier-Stokes
equations of fluid mechanics (or hydrodynamics); developed Stokes theorem by which certain
surface integrals may be reduced to line integrals; discovered fluorescence
Hermann von
Helmholtz
1821-1894
German
developed first law of thermodynamics, a statement of conservation of energy
Rudolf Clausius
1822-1888
German
developed second law of thermodynamics, a statement that the entropy of the Universe always
increases
Lord Kelvin
(born William
Thomson)
1824-1907
British
proposed absolute temperature scale, of essence to development of thermodynamics
Gustav
Kirchhoff
1824-1887
German
developed three laws of spectral analysis and three rules of electric circuit analysis; also
contributed to optics
Johann Balmer
1825-1898
Swiss
developed empirical formula to describe hydrogen spectrum
Sir Joseph
Wilson Swan
1828-1914
British
developed a carbon-filament incandescent light; patented the carbon process for printing
photographs in permanent pigment
James Clerk
Maxwell
1831-1879
Scottish
propounded the theory of electromagnetism; developed the kinetic theory of gases

3. Josef Stefan
1835-1893
Austrian
studied blackbody radiation
Ernst Mach
1838-1916
Austrian
studied conditions that occur when an object moves through a fluid at high speed (the ``Mach
number'' gives the ratio of the speed of the object to the speed of sound in the fluid); proposed
``Mach's principle,'' which states that the inertia of an object is due to the interaction between
the object and the rest of the universe
Josiah Gibbs
1839-1903
American
developed chemical thermodynamics; introduced concepts of free energy and chemical
potential
James Dewar
1842-1923
British
liquified nitrogen and invented the Dewar flask, which is critical for low-temperature work
Osborne
Reynolds
1842-1912
British
contributed to the fields of hydraulics and hydrodynamics; developed mathematical framework
for turbulence and introduced the ``Reynolds number,'' which provides a criterion for dynamic
similarity and correct modeling in many fluid-flow experiments
Ludwig
Boltzmann
1844-1906
Austrian
developed statistical mechanics and applied it to kinetic theory of gases
Roland Eötvös
1848-1919
Hungarian
demonstrated equivalence of gravitational and inertial mass
Oliver Heaviside
1850-1925
English
contributed to the development of electromagnetism; introduced operational calculus and
invented the modern notation for vector calculus; predicted existence of the Heaviside layer (a
layer of the Earth's ionosphere)
George Francis
FitzGerald
1851-1901
Irish
hypothesized foreshortening of moving bodies (Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction) to explain the
result of the Michelson-Morley experiment
John Henry
Poynting
1852-1914
British
demonstrated that the energy flow of electromagnetic waves could be calculated by an
equation (now called Poynting's vector)
Henri Poincaré
1854-1912
French
founded qualitative dynamics (the mathematical theory of dynamical systems); created
topology; contributed to solution of the three-body problem; first described many properties of
deterministic chaos; contributed to the development of special relativity
Janne Rydberg
1854-1919
Swedish
analyzed the spectra of many elements; discovered many line series were described by a
formula that depended on a universal constant (the Rydberg constant)
Edwin H. Hall
1855-1938
American
discovered the ``Hall effect,'' which occurs when charge carriers moving through a material are
deflected because of an applied magnetic field - the deflection results in a potential difference
across the side of the material that is transverse to both the magnetic field and the current
direction
Heinrich Hertz
1857-1894
German
worked on electromagnetic phenomena; discovered radio waves and the photoelectric effect
Nikola Tesla
1857-1943
Serbian-born
American
created alternating current
Alcaraz, Arturo: was a leading member of a team that used steam produced from the heat of a volcano to produce electric power in
1967.
Banatao, Diosdado: introduced or developed accelerator chips that improved computer performance, helped make the internet
possible by contributing to the development of the Ethernet controller chip, created the local bus concept for personal computers.
Campos, Paulo: wrote many papers in the field of nuclear medicine and was instrumental in building the first radioisotope lab in the
Philippines.
Comiso, Josefino: the first person to discover a recurring area of open water in sea ice in the Cosmonaut Sea. Comiso was
studying global warming at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Maramba, Felix: developed a profitable biogas system, building a power generator fuelled by coconut oil.
Zara, Gregorio: discovered around 1930 the law of electrical kinetic resistance ("Zara Effect"). In 1955 he patented a two-way
videophone. In the 1950's and 1960's he developed or improved alternate energy technologies.
Jose O. Juliano
Nuclear chemistry and physics.