Neil Turok, Perimeter Institute

Showings

Mike Lazaridis Theatre of Ideas Wed, Oct 7, 2015 7:00 PM

Description

PI Public Lecture Series:

Title: The Astonishing Simplicity of Everything

Abstract: Fundamental physics has reached a turning point. The most powerful experiments ever devised are revealing the structure of the universe with unprecedented clarity. On the largest scales – the whole visible universe – and the tiniest, we are discovering remarkable simplicity, which our theories do not yet explain. In between, things are complex. But here too, new technologies are allowing us to access the quantum frontier, opening up new high-precision probes of the fundamental laws of nature and revolutionary new technologies. We stand on the threshold of breakthroughs, both theoretical and experimental, which could change our picture of the world and the development of our society.

On October 7, Perimeter Institute Director Neil Turok will open the 2015/16 season of the PI Public Lecture Series with a talk about why he is so excited about the future of physics.

Biography: Neil Turok (PhD Imperial College London, 1983) was Professor of Physics at Princeton University and Chair of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge before assuming his current position as Director of Perimeter Institute. In 2013 he was re-appointed for a second term and additionally awarded the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Niels Bohr Chair at the institute. Neil's research focuses on developing fundamental theories of cosmology and new observational tests. His predictions for the correlations of the polarization and temperature of the cosmic background radiation (CBR) and of the galaxy-CBR correlations induced by dark energy have been recently confirmed. With Stephen Hawking, he discovered instanton solutions describing the birth of inflationary universes. His work on open inflation forms the basis of the widely discussed multiverse paradigm. With Paul Steinhardt, he developed an alternative, cyclic model for cosmology, whose predictions are so far in agreement with all observational tests. Among his many honours, Turok was awarded Sloan and Packard Fellowships and the James Clerk Maxwell medal of the Institute of Physics (UK). He is a Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Fellow in Cosmology and Gravity and a Senior Fellow of Massey College in the University of Toronto. In 2012, Turok was selected to deliver the CBC Massey Lectures, broadcast across Canada. The lectures were published as “The Universe Within,” a bestseller which won the 2013 Lane Anderson award, Canada's top prize for popular science writing. Born in South Africa, Turok founded the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in Cape Town in 2003. AIMS has since expanded to a network of four centres - in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, and Cameroon - and has become Africa's most renowned institution for postgraduate training in mathematical science. For his scientific discoveries and his work founding and developing AIMS, Turok was awarded a TED Prize in 2008. He has also been recognized with awards from the World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WSIE) and the World Innovation Summit on Education (WISE).



Doors open at 5:30 PM

Pre-Lecture Activities (tickets not required):

Black Hole Bistro - dinner and/or drinks:

RESERVATIONS ARE required to be seated in the Black Hole Bistro and can be made at bistro@pitp.ca. Dinner reservations will be scheduled between 5 pm - 6 pm for those with tickets and later for those watching the lecture in the Bistro.

Ask a Scientist?

Perimeter scientists will be on hand to answer physics questions from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

NEW WAITING LINE EXPERIENCE:
There will be a waiting line for last minute cancelled (or ‘no show’) seats on the night of the lecture. Doors open at 5:30 pm. Come to Perimeter and pick-up a waiting line chit at the Waiting Line sign and then participate in pre-lecture activities - no need to wait in line. An announcement will be made in the Bistro at 6:45pm if theatre seats are available. Note: you must arrive in person to be part of the waiting line and be in the Bistro when the waiting line announcement is made.

NO DISAPPOINTMENTS:
Everyone who comes to Perimeter will be able to participate in the lecture. The public lecture will be shown simultaneously on closed circuit television in the licensed comfort of the Black Hole Bistro or in the quiet of the Time Room for any members of the waiting line who are not able to get a theatre seat.

LIVE WEBCAST ONLINE:
Enjoy the live webcast of Perimeter Institute Public Lectures from the comfort of your own home. Join us at 7pm ET night of the lecture and be part of the ONLINE virtual audience. You can also sign up for an email reminder to watch the lecture.

For most lectures the on-demand playback will be online within 24 hours after the live event. Check our YouTube page for the playbacks.