Andrew Carnegie Lecture series 2017 brochure

Professor Alain Aspect is a French physicist renowned for his work in experimental quantum physics.

He is most well-known for his experiments on entanglement of photon pairs (Bell’s inequalities tests) and on wave-particle duality of single photons.

His most recent work bears upon quantum atom optics, quantum degenerate atomic gases and quantum simulation of disordered materials with ultra-cold atoms.

He is an alumnus of ENS Cachan (now ENS ParisSaclay) and Université Paris-Saclay. After three years teaching in Cameroon, he became a Lecturer and Researcher. He is currently a CNRS Senior Scientist at Laboratoire Charles Fabry de l’Institut d’Optique. Professor Aspect also teaches at Institut d’Optique Graduate School (Augustin Fresnel Chair) and at Ecole Polytechnique, in Palaiseau. Since 1992, he is with the Atom Optics group that he has established at Institut d’Optique.

Huge thanks to Carnegie Corporation of New York for generously supporting this lecture.

PROFESSOR ALAIN ASPECT

FROM THE EINSTEIN-BOHR DEBATE TO QUANTUM INFORMATION: A NEW QUANTUM REVOLUTION

Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic foundation created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to do ‘real and permanent good in this world.’

It is America’s oldest grant making foundation, dedicated to the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.

ANDREW CARNEGIE LECTURE

www.carnegie.org

Professor Aspect is a member of the Académie des Sciences (France), Académie des Technologies (France), National Academy of Sciences (USA), OAW (Austria), Académie Royale de Belgique (Belgium) and the Royal Society (UK). Among various awards, he has received the Carnegie Centenary Chair at the University of Strathclyde (2000), the CNRS Gold Medal (2005), the Wolf Prize in Physics (2010), the Tommasoni Award (2013), the Balzan Prize on Quantum Information (2013), the Niels Bohr Gold Medal (2013), the Albert Einstein Medal (2013) and the Ives Medal of the Optical Society of America (2013).

Over the last four decades, Professor Aspect’s research has been pivotal to the development of quantum and atom optics. In recognition of this significant impact, the University of Glasgow awarded Professor Aspect an Honorary Doctorate of Science in 2010. We’re delighted to welcome Professor Aspect back onto Gilmorehill Campus to deliver today’s lecture.

Produced by the Development & Alumni Office, University of Glasgow.

Designed by Cactus. ©University of Glasgow, March 2017 The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401

INSPIRING PEOPLE CHANGING THE WORLD

Welcome to the fourth annual Andrew Carnegie Lecture at the University of Glasgow.

We are delighted to welcome Professor Alain Aspect to deliver this evening’s lecture, From the Einstein-Bohr debate to quantum information: A new quantum revolution.

The Andrew Carnegie Lecture Series is a celebration of the University of Glasgow’s close connection with Andrew Carnegie and his vision of the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.

Professor Aspect will explore the quantum entanglement debate which lasted throughout the careers of Albert Einstein and Neils Bohr. Using the now celebrated ‘Bell’s Inequalities’, Professor Aspect has shown that quantum entanglement is indeed a reality. In other words, Einstein’s local realist world view is incorrect.

Andrew Carnegie was a renowned and well-respected industrialist and philanthropist who donated much of his wealth to improving society. Carnegie took a special interest in education, and became a major benefactor to the University of Glasgow’s development during the 20th century.

This revelation has prompted an emergence of a new field of quantum information, and Professor Aspect will show how these conceptual discussions will form the very heart of the second quantum revolution.

In recognition of this support, several teaching facilities have been named after him, including The Carnegie Lecture Theatre on the University’s main campus.

GLASGOW HAS DONE SO MUCH IN MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS TO EDUCATE OTHER CITIES AND TO HELP HERSELF THAT IT IS A PRIVILEGE TO HELP HER. ‘LET GLASGOW FLOURISH!’

Tonight’s lecture is another celebration of collaborative excellence thanks to the lasting legacy of Andrew Carnegie’s generosity.

Letter from Andrew Carnegie to Principal Robert Story, University of Glasgow, 28 May 1906 Courtesy of University of Glasgow Archive Services

PREVIOUS CARNEGIE LECTURES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW

THE ANDREW CARNEGIE LECTURE SERIES IS A TEN-YEAR INITIATIVE TO PROMOTE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING, BY BRINGING SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT THINKERS TO SCOTLAND TO ENGAGE WITH LOCAL AUDIENCES IN A VIBRANT EXCHANGE OF IDEAS. FUNDING FOR THE LECTURE SERIES WAS PROVIDED AS PART OF THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS OF CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK, AND THE SERIES WILL CONTINUE WITH SEPARATE EVENTS TAKING PLACE AT THE UNIVERSITIES OF ST ANDREWS, EDINBURGH AND ABERDEEN THROUGHOUT 2017.

BARONESS TANNI GREY-THOMPSON ‘SEIZE THE DAY’ 17 MARCH 2014

PAUL TUDOR JONES II ‘THE BUSINESS OF CONSERVATION’ 25 NOVEMBER 2015

SIR PAUL NURSE ‘TRUST IN SCIENCE’ 25 MAY 2016

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson visited Glasgow during the year of the Commonwealth Games to present the Inaugural Andrew Carnegie Lecture.

The inaugural address gave an insight into Baronness Grey-Thompson’s life as a Paralympian and a politician, a fitting theme ahead of Glasgow hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Mr Tudor Jones is a successful hedge fund manager and personality in the international finance sector, well known for his forward thinking approach. Drawing on the themes tied to Mr Tudor Jones’s work with the Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, the lecture addressed the role of philanthropy as a strong force in key worldwide issues such as health, poverty alleviation, education and conservation.

Throughout his career, renowned geneticist, cell biologist and Nobel Prize winner, Sir Paul Nurse has advocated robust research and strong ethical debate. His lecture emphasised the importance of these pillars of science and public education as we face the challenges of the future.

You can find out more about Andrew Carnegie’s connections to the University by visiting universitystory.gla.ac.uk