A tribute to an inspiring teacher, and news of the unified field theory.

Einstein's covering letter to his article about Aurel Stodola apologises for the piece being 'very lame' although it shows his 'good will': in any case, he wasn't able to do better – 'My writing paper was dumb'. Besso should add something more factual under his own name about Stodola's achievements, and send both to the Zürcher Zeitung. Einstein ends with some scientific news: 'The unified field theory has become very fine. But not a soul can understand it (Aber so versteht es keine Katz), so I will have to do it better, which will be done very shortly'. The article pays tribute to Stodola's human qualities, which might otherwise not be highlighted in 'our factual age, to which the cult of personality is in general alien', and to his abilities as a highly stimulating teacher. Einstein remembers a moment when as a novice Privatdozent he saw Stodola at one of his lectures: 'When the writer of these lines as a freshly-baked Dozent was lecturing at Zurich University on theoretical physics, there to his delight and his understandable terror appeared Stodola's wonderful figure in the auditorium ...'. Einstein concludes by speaking of Stodola's abilities to pose penetrating questions, of his sensitivity and social conscience, and of his love of music and his family.

The engineer, physicist and pioneer of technical thermodynamics Aurel Stodola (1859-1942) was Einstein's professor of mechanical engineering at the Swiss Polytechnical Institute in Zurich.