Nobel Prize Winner to Speak During OSU Research Week (February 19-23, 2007)
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Frank Wilczek
Over the course of the twentieth century Wilczek says we have constructed a very successful fundamental theory of the behavior of matter. Viewed from this perspective, the world looks very different from everyday reality. It is a very strange place and a beautiful one -- in particular, he says, we've come to understand that the building blocks of matter appear as notes in Music of the Void. He’ll discuss some recent discoveries indicating that the world is even stranger than we've understood so far, and how we're rising to the challenge.
Wilczek is considered one of the world's most eminent theoretical physicists. He has received many prizes for his work in physics, including the Nobel Prize of 2004 for work he did as a graduate student at Princeton University, when he was only 21 years old. He is known, among other things, for the discovery of asymptotic freedom, the development of quantum chromodynamics, axions and the discovery and exploitation of new forms of quantum statistics (anyons). Following the lecture, Wilczek will sign his new book, Fantastic Realities: 49 Mind Journeys and A Trip to Stockholm.
Wilczek will also give the keynote address, “Frontiers of Science,” at the OSU Research Symposium scheduled from Wednesday, February 21 through Friday, February 23 in the Student Union. Wilczek says science is bursting with opportunities and challenges. He will give a brief tour of some frontiers, going from the very small to the very large and back, showing connections between different levels.
More activities scheduled during Research Week are available online at www.researchweek.okstate.edu. For more information, contact Darla Duncan, Office of the VP for Research and Technology Transfer, 405-744-6370 or email darla.duncan@okstate.edu.