Inside the Gate
10
A Glimpse Into The Future World-famous theoretical physicist speaks at college BY SAM FLEURY
PHOTO BY KACI SMART ’09
If you’ve ever watched the popular TV series “Through the Wormhole” with Morgan Freeman on Discovery Science, or “NOVA” on PBS, or even a certain TurboTax commercial, you may have come across Dr. Michio Kaku. Kaku, a world-famous theoretical physicist, is brilliant at explaining mind-boggling scientific concepts in everyday terms. As this spring’s Schiffman Ethics in Society guest lecturer on March 2, Kaku spoke on campus to a capacity crowd of more than 900 people about the ethics of science in the next 20 years. From a special wallpaper that will allow you to talk directly to your doctor if you are sick to a self-driving automobile, Kaku’s predictions of what the future will hold mesmerized the crowd. One of these offerings is a result of modern medicine: a special cancer-diagnosing toilet that will perform liquid biopsies three times a day. “The word ‘tumor’ will disappear from the English language,” Kaku said. Kaku was the first lecturer in the Schiffman Ethics in Society series since the death of John A. Schiffman, the benefactor of the series, in August 2015. However, the Schiffman family was well-represented as Schiffman’s daughter Joy Schiffman Masterson ’65, and son Don and his wife, Martha, were in attendance for the event.
Kaku was extremely lighthearted during the lecture, eliciting laughter several times during the 90-minute presentation. He was also gracious with his time, allowing attendees to ask questions following the lecture and signing books (which the bookstore sold out of ), programs and other items for more than an hour afterward.
Dr. Michio Kaku is the 14th guest speaker for the Schiffman Ethics in Society lecture series, which began in 2003. During the pre-lecture Q&A, Kaku harkened back to high school when he decided he wanted to become a scientist. Kaku asked his mother if he could build an atom smasher in the family’s garage. When he plugged in the device, it blew out every fuse in the house. “(My mother) must have asked herself a simple question: Why couldn’t I have a son who plays basketball?” he said.