Enrico Fermi (1901 - 1954) was an Italian-American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics. He was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity. Fermi is widely regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 20th century, highly accomplished in both theory and experiment. Along with J. Robert Oppenheimer, he is frequently referred to as "the father of the atomic bomb." His lecture notes, especially those for quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, and thermodynamics, were transcribed into books which are still in print, including THERMODYNAMICS, which remains his most important publication. With his characteristic clarity, in this classic on Thermodynamics, Fermi explains the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics, entropy, thermodynamic potentials, and much more.