Abstract
This is the first part of an oral history interview on the lifelong involvement of Joel Lebowitz in the development of statistical mechanics. Here the covered topics include the formative years, which overlapped the tragic period of Nazi power and World War II in Europe, the emigration to the United States in 1946 and the schooling there. It also includes the beginnings and early scientific works with Peter Bergmann, Oliver Penrose and many others. The second part will appear in a forthcoming issue of Eur. Phys. J. H.
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The text presented here has been revised by the authors based on the original oral history interview conducted by Luisa Bonolis and recorded in Paris, France, 11–16 October 2014.
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Lebowitz, J.L., Bonolis, L. A life in statistical mechanics. EPJ H 42, 1–21 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjh/e2017-80006-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjh/e2017-80006-9