German Physical Society · Theoretical Physics
The Max Planck Medal
The German Physical Society’s highest honour for theoretical physics — awarded since 1929 in memory of the founder of quantum theory.
About This Course
The Max Planck Medal, instituted by the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG) in 1929, is one of the oldest physics prizes in continuous existence and is widely regarded as the most prestigious German honour in theoretical physics. The first medals were awarded jointly to Max Planck and Albert Einstein, the founders of quantum theory and relativity respectively. Since then, the laureate list reads as a who’s-who of 20th and 21st century theoretical physics: Heisenberg (1933), Pauli (1958), Bethe (1955), Feynman (1988), Wigner (1961), Yang (1960), Wheeler (1965), Weinberg (1986), Witten (1987), ’t Hooft (2003), Polyakov (2014), and many more.
This course covers the history of the Medal, embeds nine recent laureate lectures and interviews recorded by the DPG, and includes the parallel Lise Meitner Lectures — a DPG annual lecture series founded to highlight outstanding women in physics.
Key Numbers
1929
First award (Planck & Einstein)
1845
DPG founded — oldest physical society in the world
~85
Laureates of the Max Planck Medal to date
1900
Planck’s quantum hypothesis (hν relation)
6.626\times10^{-34}
Planck’s constant h (J·s)
22
Lise Meitner Lectures embedded (2015–2026)
Three Modules
M0
Planck, DPG & the Medal
Max Planck (1858–1947) and the quantum hypothesis (1900); the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (founded 1845, the world’s oldest physical society); the establishment of the Max Planck Medal in 1929 with Planck and Einstein as inaugural recipients.
M1
Laureate Lectures & Interviews
Recent Max Planck Medal laureates in their own words: Erwin Frey (2024, active matter), Detlef Lohse (2019, fluid dynamics), Ignacio Cirac (2018, quantum information), Herbert Spohn (2017, mathematical physics), Herbert Wagner (2016, Mermin–Wagner), Mukhanov (2015, cosmology), Buras (2014, flavour physics), Sunyaev (2008, SZ effect).
M2
Lise Meitner Lectures
A complementary DPG annual lecture series featuring leading women physicists: Anne L’Huillier (Nobel 2023, attosecond physics), Nicola Spaldin (multiferroics), Johanna Stachel (ALICE/heavy ions), Petra Schwille (biophysics), Cornelia Denz (photonics), and more.
Cross-Links
Dirac Medal of ICTP,Fields Medal & Abel Prize,Nobel Physics,Quantum Mechanics,Quantum Field Theory,Cosmology.