The impossibly small and the impossibly large merge into a single entity when Nobel physics laureate, Prof Leon Lederman visits Dublin later this month to deliver an Academy Times lecture. His free public lecture takes place on Wednesday, September 22nd in the Burke Theatre, Trinity College Dublin, writes Dick Ahlstrom.
Organised by the Royal Irish Academy and The Irish Times and sponsored by DEPFA Bank, Prof Lederman's lecture carries the disarming title, "The Search for Simplicity in the Universe".
Scientists have a compulsion to find beauty and simplicity in the workings of nature, Prof Lederman believes. In his talk he will take the impossibly small world of particle physics and unite it with cosmology, the study of our impossibly large universe.
"Both are obsessed with only one question: How does the world work?" says Prof Lederman. "There are deep, elegant, but still incomplete connections between these-but as Einstein instructed us: 'Theories should be as simple as possible, but no simpler.' "
Advanced physics is challenging, but Prof Lederman's talk is aimed at the non-specialist. Technical knowledge is not necessary to enjoy his lecture.
Prof Lederman has had a remarkable career, spanning more than four decades. Much of his research has been grounded in particle physics, the study of quarks, mesons and neutrinos.
He shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in physics with Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger for the 1962 discovery that there are two kinds of neutrino, one associated with the electron and another with the muon. He continues his research efforts as a member of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) High Energy Physics Group.
Aside from his work delving into the secrets of the universe, Prof Lederman is devoted to improving science and mathematics education. He founded the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy and co-founded the Teachers Academy for Mathematics and Science, based at IIT.
He has also found time to write a number of books including From Quarks to the Cosmos with co-author, David Schramm, and The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? It explains in a wry and unexpected way anything you ever wanted to know about high energy physics. One reviewer described The God Particle as the "funniest book about physics ever written".
Prof Lederman is also a former director of the US Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory, which pursues research into high-energy physics.
Prof Lederman's lecture takes place on Wednesday September 22nd at 7 p.m. in the Burke Theatre, Trinity College. Tickets for this free public lecture are available online at the Academy's web site, www.ria.ie. Those without Internet connections may phone 01-6762570 to reserve tickets. The lecture will also be broadcast live on the night over the academy's website.
While in Dublin, Prof Lederman will also address the international Science and Mathematics Education Conference held at DCU on September 23rd and 24th.