Welcome to the monthly Zitter Institute’s newsletter. David Hestenes is a physicist and Emeritus Professor at Arizona State University. He earned his M.A. in physics from UCLA in 1958 and completed his Ph.D. shortly thereafter. From 1964 to 1966, he held a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at Princeton, where he worked with John Archibald Wheeler. In 1966, he joined the Physics Department at Arizona State University, where he served as a full professor from 1976 until his retirement in 2000. Hestenes is best known for developing Geometric Algebra as a unified language for mathematics and physics, as well as for founding Modeling Instruction, a research-based approach to reforming STEM education at the K–12 level. In recognition of his contributions to both physics and education, Hestenes has received numerous honors, including the Oersted Medal, the Excellence in Physics Education Award from the American Physical Society, and fellowships from the Fulbright Program, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. He is also a Fellow of the American Physical Society and an Overseas Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge. Since the 1980s, Hestenes has led a realist interpretation of the Dirac equation and quantum mechanics. He coined the term "Zitter" to refer to this interpretation of Zitterbewegung, the rapid circulatory motion originally proposed by Schrödinger as a component of electron behavior: "The zitterbewegung is a local circulatory motion of the electron presumed to be the basis of the electron spin and magnetic moment. A reformulation of the Dirac theory shows that the zitterbewegung need not be attributed to interference between positive and negative energy states as originally proposed by Schrödinger. Rather, it provides a physical interpretation for the complex phase factor in the Dirac wave function generally. Moreover, it extends to a coherent physical interpretation of the entire Dirac theory, and it implies a zitterbewegung interpretation for the Schrödinger theory as well." Hestenes is also one of the founding members of the Zitter Institute, dedicated to advancing research in this domain. Now 92 years old, he remains intellectually active despite significant health challenges. Most recently, he published a paper in IEEE titled "Gyromagnetics of the Electron Clock," in which he further elaborates on the Zitter Model of the electron—a central theme he has explored and refined throughout his distinguished career. At the Zitter Institute, we would like to take this opportunity in our newsletter to sincerely honor David Hestenes, whose pioneering contributions and sustained dedication have been foundational to our understanding of quantum mechanics. With deep respect and admiration, we recognize his innovative work on the Zitter interpretation, which continues to offer valuable insights into the Dirac theory and the electron’s behavior. We remain firmly convinced of the scientific significance and lasting relevance of the framework he developed.
Best wishes,
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