Dr. Andrew Friedman
A two-time, very popular guest on the Mac Observer’s Background Mode podcast, Dr. Andrew Friedman, has passed away. He was at the University of California at San Diego Center for Astrophysics & Space Sciences.
Dr Friedman’s first appearance was in April of 2019. We chatted about how science fiction inspired him as a youth to become a cosmologist, someone who studies the origin and development of the universe. He filled us on his favorite research topics, including how observing Type Ia supernovae allow astrophysicists to measure the rate of expansion of the universe. Here’s the podcast:
[TMO Background Mode Interview with Cosmologist Dr. Andrew Friedman]
In his second appearance in December of 2019, Dr. Friedman and I chatted about the apparent, seemingly contrived conflict between science and religion. We explored some of the sources of this conflict and how, with a good perspective, they are not really at odds. We looked at faith, both in science and religion, Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, proof of God’s existence, varying views about what God is, approaching the subject with humility, and how the Bible cannot really serve as a science textbook. Here’s the podcast:
[Cosmologist Dr. Andrew Friedman (#2) – TMO Background Mode Interview]
Dr. Friedman passed away on July 10 in San Diego. He was 41.
For more information about his life and influence in the science community, there is a good article at The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“Andy,” inspired by Carl Sagan, was never adverse to exploring the big philosophical questions surrounding astrophysics, and it showed in his two podcasts with me. It has been an honor to know him, even if briefly.