Physics
Past year speakers
2023 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Donna Strickland, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo
2018 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Public Lecture Topic: "Generating High-Intensity, Ultrashort Optical Pulses"
Physics Seminar Topic: "From Nonlinear Optics to High-Intensity Laser Physics"
2022 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Arthur B. McDonald, Ph.D.
Gray Chair Emeritus in Particle Astrophysics, Queen's University
Director of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) Scientific Collaboration
2015 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Public Lecture Topic: "A Deeper Understanding of Our Universe From Far Underground"
Physics Seminar Topic: "Searches for Dark Matter Direct Interactions and Neutrino-less Double Beta Decay"
2018 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Barry Barish, Ph.D.
California Institute of Technology
Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)
2017 Nobel Laureate in Physics
View Public Lecture: "Einstein, Black Holes, and Gravitational Waves"
View Physics Seminar: "Gravitational Waves: Detectors, Detections, and the Future"
2017 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
J. Michael Kosterlitz, D.Phil.
Brown University
2016 Nobel Laureate in Physics
View Public Lecture: "Topological Defects and Phase Transitions"
View Physics Seminar: "Topological Defects and Phase Transitions"
2016 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Shuji Nakamura, Ph.D.
University of California Santa Barbara
2014 Nobel Laureate in Physics
View Public Lecture: "The Invention of High Efficient Blue LEDs and Future Lighting"
View Physics Seminar: "Development of InGaN/GaN Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and Laser Diodes for Energy Efficient Lighting and Displays"
2015 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
David J. Gross, Ph.D.
University of California Santa Barbara
2004 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Public Lecture Topic: "The Frontiers of Fundamental Physics"
Physics Seminar Topic: "The Enduring Legacy of Albert Einstein"
2014 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Adam G. Riess, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
2011 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "Supernovae Reveal an Accelerating Universe"
2013 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
David J. Wineland, Ph.D.
National Institute of Standards and Technology
2012 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "Superposition, Entanglement, and Raising Schrödinger's Cat"
2012 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
John C. Mather, Ph.D.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
2006 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "History of the Universe from the Beginning to End"
2011 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Theodor W. Hänsch, Ph.D.
Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics
2005 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "Passion for Precision"
2010 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Anthony J. Leggett, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2003 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "Why Can't Time Run Backwards?"
2009 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Riccardo Giacconi, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
2002 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "A New Revolution in Astronomy 400 Years after Galileo"
2008 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Frank Wilczek, Ph.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2004 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "The Universe is a Strange Place"
2007 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Eric A. Cornell, Ph.D.
National Institute of Standards and Technology
2001 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "Stone Cold Science: Bose-Einstein Condensation and the Weird World of Physics a Millionth of a Degree from Absolute Zero"
2006 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Wolfgang Ketterle, Ph.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2001 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "Bose-Einstein Condensates - The Coldest Matter in the Universe"
2005 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Horst L. Störmer, Ph.D.
Columbia University
1998 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "Small Wonders: The World of Nano Science"
2004 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Joseph H. Taylor Jr., Ph.D.
Princeton University
1993 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "Binary Pulsars and Relativistic Gravity"
2003 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Robert C. Richardson, Ph.D. (1937-2013)
Cornell University
1996 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "The Science Plans for the International Space Station"
2002 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Douglas D. Osheroff, Ph.D.
Stanford University
1996 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "Discovery in Physics"
2001 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
Steven Chu, Ph.D.
Stanford University
1997 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "Holding on to Atoms and Bio-molecules with Laser Light"
2000 Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker
William D. Phillips, Ph.D.
National Institute of Standards and Technology
1997 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Topic: "Almost Absolute Zero: The Story of Laser Cooling"