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Professor Cliff Burgess
String Theory: Quantum Mechanics
and Gravity --
The Start of a Beautiful Relationship?
String theory is our best candidate for a theory of matter
at the most fundamental level and states that when matter is
viewed at the smallest distances it consists of small loops
of "string".
This breaks with 300 years of reductionism which viewed particles
as the most fundamental objects from which all others are made.
This radically new perspective seems to be the only way to
reconcile the two main foundations of nature, which have proven
over the the 20th century to be almost inconsistent with one
another.
These two foundations are quantum mechanics (the modern theory
of the very small) - and gravity (the modern theory of space
and time itself). With so much at stake excitement reigns, but
nevertheless
string theory remains controversial. Come hear where the bodies
are buried . . .
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| Cliff Burgess describes
himself as an "unabashed high-energy particle theorist"
whose research interests also include the interface
between string theory and lower-energy physics.
Born in Manitoba, Burgess was raised in various places
around Western Canada, Ontario and Europe.
He received his B.Sc. in a co-op program, with a joint
honours in Physics and Applied Math from the University
of Waterloo. Professor Burgess' doctoral work was in
Theoretical Particle Physics at the University
of Texas in Austin under the supervision of Steven Weinberg,
followed by a postdoctoral stint at the Institute for
Advanced Study in Princeton.
In 1987 he joined the faculty at McGill University,
where he was made James McGill Professor in 2003. Burgess
is currently a professor with McMaster University's
department of
Physics and Astronomy and an Associate Member at
the Perimeter
Institute.
He was recently awarded a prestigous Killam Fellowship
by the Canada Council for the Arts to research String
Cosmology, the interface between string theory and early
universe cosmology.
Cliff Burgess' Home
Page
This is
a free public lecture.
All are welcome!
Tuesday December 6, 2005
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Lecture begins at 7 p.m.
Hamilton Specator Auditorium
To reserve your seat:
e-mail sciencecity@mcmaster.ca
Or by phone 905-525-9140, extension 24934
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