Einstein’s Tutor: The Story of Emmy Noether and the Invention of Modern Physics

Phillips, a former research physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory, spotlights a brilliant German mathematician from the early 20th century: Emmy Noether, who made significant contributions to abstract algebra. Rather than being a straight biography, the book showcases Noether’s ideas and accomplishments, while also devoting attention to the obstacles she experienced due to her gender and later, in Nazi Germany, her Jewish heritage. Phillips also details the scientists whose work Noether influenced, including Albert Einstein; Noether is credited with giving him the basis to develop his theory of relativity. Phillips describes Noether’s Theorem—connected to physicists, laws of nature, and symmetries—as a “theory-construction kit” that undergirds research in physics and mathematics, and he offers concrete examples using familiar objects, but readers without math expertise may find this concept and section challenging to fully comprehend. With that said, however, the book is still successful in explaining why Noether’s research remains important today.