Jorge E. Hirsch
Encyclopedia
Jorge E. Hirsch is an Argentine American
professor of physics
at the University of California, San Diego
. He is known for his for public warnings in 2005 and 2006 about the increasing risk of nuclear war that he claimed was being caused by an unnecessarily aggressive military nuclear
policy on the part of the George W. Bush administration
. He is also known for inventing the h-index
in 2005, an index for quantifying a scientist's publication productivity.
, Argentina
. He earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Buenos Aires
, and a CONICET research fellowship in 1975. A Fullbright Scholarship awarded to him in 1976 took him to the University of Chicago
, where he received a Telegdi
Prize for the best Candidacy Examination in 1977 and was awarded the Victor J. Andrew Memorial Fellowship in 1978. He received his Ph.D from the University of Chicago
in 1980 and served as a post-doctoral research associate in the Institute for Theoretical Physics
at the University of California, Santa Barbara
. Following this experience, he joined the University of California, San Diego
Department of Physics in 1983.
and ferromagnetism
, based on explanations starting from the small-scale mechanisms.
proposed by Hirsch in 2005 became a widely known alternative bibliometric parameter that combines both numbers of articles published by a given scientist and the numbers of citations of those articles in a single parameter.
and that
He also speculated that in order to justify an attack on Iran using nuclear weapons, US authorities might make a false, but difficult to disprove, claim that Iranian biologists
are trying to develop a strain of the H5N1
avian flu virus which would be transmissible from human to human, and which would be transported to Europe by birds migrating north with the onset of the northern summer of 2006. Later, a human to human transmissible strain was found to have emerged in Southeast Asia and is documented by WHO.
In April 2006, Hirsch initiated a letter to President George W. Bush
, co-signed by twelve other physicists, warning of the dangers of using tactical nuclear weapons against Iran. The letter, dated April 17, was in response to articles in The New Yorker
and The Washington Post
that indicated the Pentagon was actively considering such options.
Argentine American
Argentine Americans are citizens and residents of the United States whose origins are in the South American nation of Argentina.The profile of the Argentine American population is generally similar to the overall U.S. population's. Among the key differences, however, is educational attainment...
professor of physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. He is known for his for public warnings in 2005 and 2006 about the increasing risk of nuclear war that he claimed was being caused by an unnecessarily aggressive military nuclear
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
policy on the part of the George W. Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
. He is also known for inventing the h-index
H-index
The h-index is an index that attempts to measure both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar. The index is based on the set of the scientist's most cited papers and the number of citations that they have received in other publications...
in 2005, an index for quantifying a scientist's publication productivity.
Background
Hirsch was born in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. He earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Buenos Aires
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires is the largest university in Argentina and the largest university by enrollment in Latin America. Founded on August 12, 1821 in the city of Buenos Aires, it consists of 13 faculties, 6 hospitals, 10 museums and is linked to 4 high schools: Colegio Nacional de Buenos...
, and a CONICET research fellowship in 1975. A Fullbright Scholarship awarded to him in 1976 took him to the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he received a Telegdi
Valentine Telegdi
Valentine Louis Telegdi FRS was a Hungarian-born U.S. physicist.He was the Enrico Fermi Distinguished Service Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago before he moved to ETH Zürich...
Prize for the best Candidacy Examination in 1977 and was awarded the Victor J. Andrew Memorial Fellowship in 1978. He received his Ph.D from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1980 and served as a post-doctoral research associate in the Institute for Theoretical Physics
Institute for Theoretical Physics
Institute for Theoretical Physics may refer to various educational institutions around the globe including:* C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics at Stony Brook University, New York...
at the University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
. Following this experience, he joined the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
Department of Physics in 1983.
Physics
Hirsch's scientific work is involved with understanding collective, large-scale properties of solids, such as superconductivitySuperconductivity
Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...
and ferromagnetism
Ferromagnetism
Ferromagnetism is the basic mechanism by which certain materials form permanent magnets, or are attracted to magnets. In physics, several different types of magnetism are distinguished...
, based on explanations starting from the small-scale mechanisms.
Bibliometry
The h-indexH-index
The h-index is an index that attempts to measure both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar. The index is based on the set of the scientist's most cited papers and the number of citations that they have received in other publications...
proposed by Hirsch in 2005 became a widely known alternative bibliometric parameter that combines both numbers of articles published by a given scientist and the numbers of citations of those articles in a single parameter.
Nuclear war analyses
Some examples of Hirsch's claims during early 2006 were that- Multiple pieces of independent evidence suggest that America is embarked in a premeditated path that will lead inexorably to the use of nuclear weapons against IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
in the very near future
and that
- neither the media nor Congress are bringing up the inconvenient little fact that the military option will necessarily lead to the use of nuclear weapons against Iran.
He also speculated that in order to justify an attack on Iran using nuclear weapons, US authorities might make a false, but difficult to disprove, claim that Iranian biologists
Biological engineering
Biological engineering, biotechnological engineering or bioengineering is the application of concepts and methods of biology to solve problems in life sciences, using engineering's own analytical and synthetic methodologies and also its traditional...
are trying to develop a strain of the H5N1
H5N1
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as "bird flu", A or simply H5N1, is a subtype of the influenza A virus which can cause illness in humans and many other animal species...
avian flu virus which would be transmissible from human to human, and which would be transported to Europe by birds migrating north with the onset of the northern summer of 2006. Later, a human to human transmissible strain was found to have emerged in Southeast Asia and is documented by WHO.
In April 2006, Hirsch initiated a letter to President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, co-signed by twelve other physicists, warning of the dangers of using tactical nuclear weapons against Iran. The letter, dated April 17, was in response to articles in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
that indicated the Pentagon was actively considering such options.
External links
- Hirsch's research and public service page
- "JE Hirsch", Google Scholar