Theodore Gray

Last updated
Theodore Gray
Theodore Gray.jpg
Born (1964-11-18) 18 November 1964 (age 59)
Nationality American
Alma mater University of Illinois
Known forCo-founder of Wolfram Research
prominent science author
co-founder of Touch Press
Scientific career
Fields Mathematics, chemistry, computing, publishing
Institutions Wolfram Research, Touch Press

Theodore W. "Theo" Gray is a co-founder of Wolfram Research, science author, and co-founder of app developer Touch Press.

Contents

Education

Theodore Gray was educated at the University of Illinois Laboratory High School. He would later graduate with a B.S. in chemistry from University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1986. [1] [ self-published source? ] [2]

Career

In 1987, Gray left a PhD program in theoretical chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley to work with Stephen Wolfram. In that same year, he co-founded Wolfram Research. [3] His initial work for the company involved creating the influential notebook user interface for Mathematica. [4] [5] Gray would eventually leave Wolfram Research to become a writer and publisher full-time. [6]

After amassing thousands of samples of elements, he assembled them into a four-legged physical table representing the periodic table. The finished table was awarded the 2011 ACS Grady Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public, as well as the 2002 Ig Nobel Award for Chemistry. [7] [8] Gray's love of the periodic table would lead him to team up with photographer Nick Mann in creating The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe and Elements Vault. [9]

For many years, Gray wrote a regular column for Popular Science entitled "Gray Matter". [10] The column was a finalist for a National Magazine Award for Best Column in 2010. [11] In 2009, a collection of articles by Gray was published under the title Mad Science: Experiments You Can Do at Home—But Probably Shouldn't. [12] [13] A sequel to the book, Mad Science 2: Experiments You Can Do At Home, But STILL Probably Shouldn't was published in 2013. [14]

In 2010, Gray founded Touch Press together with Max Whitby, John Cromie and Stephen Wolfram shortly after the announcement of the launch of the iPad. [15] [16] The company was created to develop innovative educational apps using the technology of the iPad to its full potential. The first published app was "The Elements," [17] and in 2014 Gray released "Molecules", which allows users to touch and discover the basic building blocks of the world. [18] Of Touch Press's "Disney Animated," which was named the best iPad app of 2013 worldwide by Apple, iTunes's App Editor noted, "We’re absolutely spellbound". [19] The app won a BAFTA award in 2014. [20]

Gray also co-founded Pale Gray Labs with Nina Paley.

Gray has developed a range of acrylic model kits, which he named "Mechanical GIFs" (as a nod to animated drawings on the internet), to show "how common and uncommon machines, mechanisms, gadgets, and devices work". [21]

In July 2018, Gray was invited to Beijing on behalf of The Newton Project by its founder, Jizhe Xu, to serve as a consulting advisor. [22]

Throughout his career, Gray has been an advocate for a broader engagement between the scientific community and the public at large. [23] [24]

Works

See also

Related Research Articles

A chemical element is a chemical substance that cannot be broken down into other substances by chemical reactions. The basic particle that constitutes a chemical element is the atom. Elements are identified by the number of protons in their nucleus, known as the element's atomic number. For example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8, meaning each oxygen atom has 8 protons in its nucleus. Atoms of the same element can have different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei, known as isotopes of the element. Two or more atoms can combine to form molecules. Chemical compounds are molecules made of atoms of different elements, while mixtures contain atoms of different elements not necessarily combined as molecules. Atoms can be transformed into different elements in nuclear reactions, which change an atom's atomic number.

The lanthanide or lanthanoid series of chemical elements comprises at least the 14 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 57–70, from lanthanum through ytterbium. In the periodic table, they fill the 4f orbitals. Lutetium is also sometimes considered a lanthanide, despite being a d-block element and a transition metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Periodic table</span> Tabular arrangement of the chemical elements ordered by atomic number

The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the elements, is an ordered arrangement of the chemical elements into rows ("periods") and columns ("groups"). It is an icon of chemistry and is widely used in physics and other sciences. It is a depiction of the periodic law, which states that when the elements are arranged in order of their atomic numbers an approximate recurrence of their properties is evident. The table is divided into four roughly rectangular areas called blocks. Elements in the same group tend to show similar chemical characteristics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Wolfram</span> British-American scientist (born 1959)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemical symbol</span> Abbreviations used in chemistry

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A period 5 element is one of the chemical elements in the fifth row of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate recurring (periodic) trends in the chemical behaviour of the elements as their atomic number increases: a new row is begun when chemical behaviour begins to repeat, meaning that elements with similar behaviour fall into the same vertical columns. The fifth period contains 18 elements, beginning with rubidium and ending with xenon. As a rule, period 5 elements fill their 5s shells first, then their 4d, and 5p shells, in that order; however, there are exceptions, such as rhodium.

A period 4 element is one of the chemical elements in the fourth row of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate recurring (periodic) trends in the chemical behaviour of the elements as their atomic number increases: a new row is begun when chemical behaviour begins to repeat, meaning that elements with similar behaviour fall into the same vertical columns. The fourth period contains 18 elements beginning with potassium and ending with krypton – one element for each of the eighteen groups. It sees the first appearance of d-block in the table.

A period 6 element is one of the chemical elements in the sixth row (or period) of the periodic table of the chemical elements, including the lanthanides. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate recurring (periodic) trends in the chemical behaviour of the elements as their atomic number increases: a new row is begun when chemical behaviour begins to repeat, meaning that elements with similar behaviour fall into the same vertical columns. The sixth period contains 32 elements, tied for the most with period 7, beginning with caesium and ending with radon. Lead is currently the last stable element; all subsequent elements are radioactive. For bismuth, however, its only primordial isotope, 209Bi, has a half-life of more than 1019 years, over a billion times longer than the current age of the universe. As a rule, period 6 elements fill their 6s shells first, then their 4f, 5d, and 6p shells, in that order; however, there are exceptions, such as gold.

A period 2 element is one of the chemical elements in the second row of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate recurring (periodic) trends in the chemical behavior of the elements as their atomic number increases; a new row is started when chemical behavior begins to repeat, creating columns of elements with similar properties.

A period 1 element is one of the chemical elements in the first row of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate periodic (recurring) trends in the chemical behaviour of the elements as their atomic number increases: a new row is begun when chemical behaviour begins to repeat, meaning that analog elements fall into the same vertical columns. The first period contains fewer elements than any other row in the table, with only two: hydrogen and helium. This situation can be explained by modern theories of atomic structure. In a quantum mechanical description of atomic structure, this period corresponds to the filling of the 1s orbital. Period 1 elements obey the duet rule in that they need two electrons to complete their valence shell.

A period 7 element is one of the chemical elements in the seventh row of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate recurring (periodic) trends in the chemical behavior of the elements as their atomic number increases: a new row is begun when chemical behavior begins to repeat, meaning that elements with similar behavior fall into the same vertical columns. The seventh period contains 32 elements, tied for the most with period 6, beginning with francium and ending with oganesson, the heaviest element currently discovered. As a rule, period 7 elements fill their 7s shells first, then their 5f, 6d, and 7p shells in that order, but there are exceptions, such as uranium.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Element collecting</span>

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References

  1. "Biography of Theodore Gray". Theodore Gray. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  2. Lovdahl, Andrew (2006-12-12). "The biggest table ... period". The Gargoyle. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  3. Wolfram, Stephen (2010-12-24). "Touch Press: The Second Book". Stephen Wolfram Blog. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  4. Somers, James (5 April 2018). "The Scientific Paper Is Obsolete". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  5. Lehrer, Brian (2009-05-22). "Interview of Wolfram Research Co-Founder Theodore (Theo) Gray". Dell. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  6. Merli, Melissa (2013-02-10). "Getting Personal: Theodore Gray". The News Gazette. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  7. Andrews, Ward (March 5, 2012). "The Periodic Table Table by Theodore Gray". Design.org. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  8. "The 2002 Ig Nobel Prize Winners". Improbable.com. Improbable Research. August 2006. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  9. Nicholes, Will (2011-03-16). "Author of 'Mad Science' releases book on the elements". The Toledo Blade. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  10. Gray Matter, Popular Science.
  11. "Winners & Finalists". Magazine.org. American Society of Magazine Editors. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  12. Saslow, Rachel (2011-05-16). "Cheating at science fairs; 'Mad Science' by Theodore Gray". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2013-08-22. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  13. Nicholes, Will (March 16, 2011). "Author of 'Mad Science' releases book on the elements". Toledo Free Press . Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  14. Feinberg, Ashley (2013-05-30). "How to Turn Burning Gas Into a Lamp Without Blowing Yourself Up". Gizmodo. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  15. Roush, Wade (2011-07-29). "TouchPress: Theodore Gray Tests His Mettle in the App World". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  16. Wolfram, Stephen (2010-12-24). "Touch Press: The Second Book". Stephen Wolfram Blog. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  17. Pham, Alex (2010-04-27). "The curious tale of the wooden table that became an iPad book". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  18. Stockton, Nick (20 October 2014). "Explore the Building Blocks of Everything From Poison to Soap". Wired. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  19. "Disney Animated By Disney". iTunes. Apple. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  20. "Disney Animated Wins Children's BAFTA Award". Disney. 2014-12-03. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  21. Mechanical Gifs
  22. Fimo (2018-07-30). "Newton weekly report". Medium. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  23. Ingerson, Trevor (2011-09-22). "The Elements: A Q&A with Theodore Gray". Scholastic. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  24. Lehrer, Brian (2010-04-23). "Elemental Design". WNYC. Retrieved August 14, 2013.