Erwin Ruolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger (IPA: [ˈɛrviːn ˈʃrøːdɪŋɐ]; August 12, 1887 – January 4, 1961) was an Austrian - Irish physicist who achieved fame for his contributions to quantum mechanics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1933. In 1935, after extensive correspondence with personal friend Albert Einstein, he proposed the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment.