Institute For Advanced Study Presents Two Lectures: “How The Sun Shines,” And “The Dark Side Of The Universe”

The Institute for Advanced Study will offer two public lectures on Tuesday, July 1: John N. Bahcall, who is Richard Black Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute, will speak on “How the Sun Shines,” and Princeton University Professor of Astrophysics Neta A. Bahcall’s talk is titled “The Dark Side of the Universe.” The lectures, intended for a general audience, are sequential, beginning at 5:00 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall on the Institute campus.

John Bahcall has been a faculty member at the Institute since 1971. He recently won the Dan David Prize for work in cosmology and astronomy, and was a co-winner of the Franklin Institute Medal for work leading to an understanding of neutrino emission from the sun. He received his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, his M.S. from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Neta Bahcall directs the Council on Science and Technology at Princeton, and has served on the faculty of the Department of Astrophysical Sciences from 1971-83, and from 1989 to the present. Her interests are in observational cosmology, large-scale structures of the universe, and quasars, among other fields of inquiry. Currently Century Lecturer of the American Astronomical Society, she received her bachelor’s degree from Hebrew University, her M.S. from Weizmann Institute of Science, and her Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University.

The public lectures are sponsored by the Institute’s Prospects in Theoretical Physics, a program for graduate students in physics and astrophysics being held at the Institute June 30-July 11. This year’s topic is Cosmology, Particles, and Strings. Members of the program’s organizing committee include Chiara Nappi, John Bahcall, Neta Bahcall, David Spergel, and Paul Steinhardt. Princeton University is hosting program participants on July 10, with a day of lectures and laboratory sessions in the Department of Physics and the Department of Astrophysical Sciences.

Prospects in Theoretical Physics is supported by The Concordia Foundation, J. Seward Johnson, Sr. Charitable Trusts, and the National Science Foundation.

For additional information, call 609-734-8216 or see www.ias.edu/pitp.