A Remembrance of Julian Schwinger

I will discuss the scientific legacy of Julian Schwinger (1918-1994). Beginning as a nuclear physicist, he became the first to solve the problems of quantum electrodynamics, with his famous result for the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron in 1947. Renormalized quantum electrodynamics now reigns supreme as the most successful theoretical construction of humankind. Schwinger went on make major contributions to quantum field theory, such as the quantum action principle, Euclidean quantum field theory, and the study of anomalies. He devised a major approach to quantum mechanics called Measurement Algebra. Late in his career, after his move from Harvard to UCLA he developed unique analyses of the Casimir Effect and Thomas-Fermi theory. In the course of his career, he reformulated quantum field theory four times, starting from a noncovariant approach and ending in his "non-speculative" Source Theory. This talk will highlight some of the important milestones of his life and career.