Jeremy Bernstein

This memorial obituary was originally published in The Aspen Times here.

Jeremy Bernstein, a distinguished theoretical physicist and celebrated author who illuminated the complexities of modern physics for general readers through his elegant prose and insightful profiles of scientists, died on April 20, 2025, in Manhattan. He was 95.

Born on December 31, 1929, in Rochester, New York, to Rabbi Philip S. Bernstein and Sophie Rubin Bernstein, Jeremy was named after the biblical Jeremiah, reflecting his father’s scholarly influence. Raised in a family of Lithuanian and Russian-Jewish descent, he moved to New York City during World War II when his father became head of Jewish chaplains in the armed forces. Bernstein’s intellectual journey began at Harvard University, where he earned his bachelor’s (1951), master’s (1953), and Ph.D. (1955) under Julian Schwinger, focusing on the electromagnetic properties of deuterium.

Bernstein made his first visit to the Aspen Center for Physics in 1969. He became a Trustee at the Center in 1981 and was an Honorary Trustee until his death. Bernstein was a part-time resident of Aspen for almost 50 years. Through the Center for Physics and other Aspen organizations he spoke on diverse subjects such as “The Physics of the Iran Nuclear Negotiations,” “The Life and Personality of Einstein,” “Tea with Margaret Thatcher,” “Druk Yul, The Dragon Kingdom,” and “A Voyage to Lhasa.” For the 50th Anniversary of The Aspen Center for Physics, Bernstein wrote an essay on the Physics Center’s first 35 years. https://aspenphys.org/people/jeremy-bernstein/

As a physicist, Bernstein made contributions to elementary particle physics and cosmology, working at prestigious institutions like the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New York University, and Stevens Institute of Technology, where he became Professor Emeritus in 1967. He held visiting positions at CERN, Oxford, and the École Polytechnique, among others, and was the last surviving senior member of Project Orion, exploring nuclear pulse propulsion for space travel.

Bernstein’s true legacy, however, lies in his ability to bridge science and the public. From 1961 to 1995, he was a staff writer for The New Yorker, penning scores of articles that demystified topics from quantum mechanics to cosmology. His profiles of physicists like J. Robert Oppenheimer, Hans Bethe, and Albert Einstein, enriched by personal acquaintance, blended scientific rigor with human depth. He wrote regularly for The New York Review of Books, The Atlantic Monthly, and Scientific American, and authored over two dozen books, including Oppenheimer: Portrait of an Enigma (2004), Quantum Leaps(2009), and A Bouquet of Numbers and Other Scientific Offerings (2016). His memoir, The Life It Brings (1987), traced his path from a curious youth to a physicist-writer, earning praise for its candor.

Critics lauded his work for its wit and accessibility, with The Washington Post calling him “an accomplished scientist and journalist whose dual mastery bordered on the extraordinary.”

Beyond physics, Bernstein was an avid mountaineer, chronicling his treks in In the Himalayas (1989) and Mountain Passages. Time magazine noted, “Bernstein is an exception to both rules: most climbers cannot write, and most writers cannot climb.” His eclectic interests—science, travel, language and philosophy—reflected an indefatigable curiosity.

Bernstein lived in Manhattan, where he wrote a column, “Out of My Mind,” for The American Scholar. He never married and leaves no immediate survivors.

In a 1987 New York Times essay, Bernstein reflected on his dual career: “Writing has enriched my life, and I have never regretted doing it.” His words, like his life, invited readers to explore the wonders of the universe with clarity and joy.