This year's Reith Lecturer is American theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer. He is Professor of Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and was formerly Professor of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley. During the Second World War, he became the Director of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory where his role in the Manhattan Project led him to be described as the "father of the atomic bomb". In his Reith lectures entitled 'Science and the Common Understanding', he examines the impact of quantum and atomic theory on society.

In his first lecture entitled 'Newton: the Path of Light', Professor Oppenheimer explores how science has advanced over the years. He considers Man's long journey of discovery, highlighting how Newton's physics and methodologies led to our present rich scientific understanding. Show less