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Renowned physicists, from left, Sir Anthony Leggett, Francois Englert, Paul Davies, Sir Michael Berry and Yakir Aharonov join in a public panel discussion on the nature of time during Chapman University’s physics conference in August. All five are members of the Institute for Quantum Studies at Chapman.
Center of the Physics Universe t first glance, the physics conference held at Chapman University in August seemed a bit like a meeting of science fiction writers bending their imaginations to create the next great futuristic novel. After all, panelists’ topics ranged from “A Big Universe” to “The Ghost in the Quantum Turing Machine.” And that impression might be half right — the science half. To mark the 80th birthday of Yakir Aharonov, professor of theoretical physics and James J. Farley Professor in Natural Philosophy, Chapman hosted a gathering of the world’s most noted physicists, including two Nobel laureates. No one can predict what future
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“For the past 36 hours, this room has been the most intelligent place in the universe. At least this universe.” CHAPMAN CHANCELLOR DANIELE STRUPPA
discoveries might have been sparked during those summer days, as some 40 scientists immersed themselves in deep conversations, shared their work, and even enjoyed a cruise of Newport Harbor together. But the potential is great. “For the past 36 hours, this room has been the most intelligent place in the
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universe. At least this universe,” Chapman Chancellor Daniele Struppa said during the conference’s closing reception. “And I especially want to thank Yakir. Without your intelligence, but even more than that — and I mean this in the most positive way — your childlike passion, this conference wouldn’t have been the success that it was.” The groundbreaking concepts of Professor Aharonov continue to inspire other quantum physicists and capture the science community’s attention. Among those joining him at the conference were Francois Englert, co-discoverer of the Higgs boson, one of the biggest discoveries in
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particle physics in decades; Sir Anthony Leggett, whose work on superfluidity was honored with the 2003 Nobel Prize; and Sir Michael Berry, known for the discovery of the Berry-phase, the sister-phenomenon to the Aharonov-Bohm effect. During the conference, the university also announced its new Institute for
Italian physicist Federico Faggin emphasizes a point during a session at the conference.
Quantum Studies (quantum.chapman.edu), headed by Aharonov and fellow Chapman physicist and collaborator Jeff Tollaksen. In addition, a dedication ceremony for the Yakir Aharonov Alcove in Leatherby Libraries, which will permanently house Aharonov’s National Medal of Science, capped off the conference. The international science community can look forward to more such gatherings at Chapman’s Schmid College of Science and Technology, the Chancellor said. “Chapman is fortunate to launch an Institute for Quantum Studies that will consolidate global research interests around the foundational theoretical work of Yakir,” Struppa said. “This will be a distinctive institute known internationally as a model for science education and research.”