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.
Other Science-Prize Courses
Other prize-and-laureate courses on CoursesHub. Each one collects laureate lectures, interviews, and short biographical sketches for one of the world’s top science honours.
Nobel Physics →
The benchmark global physics prize since 1901 — 35 laureate lectures (2013–2025).
Nobel Chemistry →
The benchmark global chemistry prize since 1901 — 37 laureate lectures (2013–2025).
Fields Medal & Abel Prize →
The two top mathematics honours, with the complete Abel Prize laureate-interview archive (2003–2025).
Dirac Medal of ICTP →
ICTP Trieste annual award for theoretical physics, since 1985 — laureate lectures + ICTP Distinguished Conversations.
Crafoord Astronomy →
Royal Swedish Academy honours in astronomy and astrophysics.
Crafoord Geosciences →
Royal Swedish Academy honours in geosciences and climate.
Crafoord Biosciences →
Royal Swedish Academy honours in evolutionary biology and ecology.
Related Subject Courses
Quantum Mechanics,Quantum Field Theory,Cosmology,Statistical Mechanics,Condensed Matter,Fluid Mechanics,Particle Physics,Atomic & Optical Physics.