The Origins of Mass, Matter, and the Early Universe

How did the universe develop? What exactly is the Higgs boson? How has string theory influenced the field of particle astrophysics? On March 20, join scientific experts at the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) in New York for a panel discussion on the Big Bang and beyond.

NEW YORK (March 6, 2014) – On Thursday, March 20, 2014, join esteemed researchers from Germany and the U.S. for an enlightening discussion on their pioneering contributions to the fields of theoretical particle physics, cosmology, and quasicrystals. The presentations will highlight groundbreaking research throughout the course of the speakers’ scientific careers, ranging from the landscape discussion in string theory to contemporary theories of supersymmetric particle models, cosmology, and quantum gravity.

Dr. Jonathan R. Ellis, CBE, FRS, Clerk Maxwell Professor of Theoretical Physics at Kings College in London and Member of the Theory Division for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva will speak at the event. Dr. Ellis joined CERN in 1978 where he played an influential role in the 1984 workshop on physics, which was instrumental in the creation of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). He has written many articles on searches for Higgs bosons and supersymmetric particles at the LHC. He was one of the research pioneers at the interface between particle physics and cosmology, which has since become a sub-specialty of its own: particle astrophysics. In the 1980s, Dr. Ellis became a leading advocate for models of supersymmetry. In 1991, he demonstrated that radioactive corrections to the mass of the lightest Higgs boson in minimal supersymmetric models increased that mass beyond the reach of the Large Electron–Positron Collider (LEP) searches.

He will be joined by Dr. Paul J. Steinhardt, Director of the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science and Albert Einstein Professor in Science at Princeton University, where he is also on the faculty of both the Department of Physics and the Department of Astrophysical Sciences. Dr. Steinhardt is a Fellow in the American Physical Society and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2012, he was named Simons Fellow in Theoretical Physics, Radcliffe Institute Fellow at Harvard, and Moore Fellow at Caltech. He is the author of over 200 refereed articles, six patents, two patents pending, three technical books, and numerous popular articles. In 2007, he co-authored “Endless Universe: The Big Bang and Beyond,” a popular book on contemporary theories of cosmology. He is also one of the co-discoverers of the first natural quasicrystal.

Dr. Dieter Lüst, Chair for Mathematical Physics and Director of the Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics at the Ludwig-Maximilians- Universität München, will moderate the discussion. In 1986, Dr. Lüst was among the first to construct string theories in four dimensions. This discovery was crucial for the so-called landscape discussion in string theory, which started about ten years ago. In 1990, he was among the first to discuss strong-weak-coupling duality in string theory, which about five years later was a key element in the formulation of M-theory as a unifying description of all known forces in nature. For his achievements, Dr. Lüst was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize by the DFG in 2000. In 2006, he received the Humboldt-Gay-Lussac Prize from the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation together with the French Minister of Science. Since 2012, Dr. Lüst has held an Advanced Grant by the European Research Council (ERC).

This astrophysics event will take place on Thursday, March 20, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the German Center for Research and Innovation (871 United Nations Plaza, First Avenue, btw. 48th & 49th Streets).

Unable to attend? Follow @gcri_ny and the hashtag #astrophysics for live tweets.

This event is co-sponsored by the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) and the German Research Foundation (DFG).

The German Center for Research and Innovation provides information and support for the realization of cooperative and collaborative projects between North America and Germany. With the goal of enhancing communication on the critical challenges of the 21st century, GCRI hosts a wide range of events from lectures and exhibitions to workshops and science dinners. Opened in February 2010, GCRI was created as a cornerstone of the German government’s initiative to internationalize science and research and is one of five centers worldwide.

German Center for Research and Innovation New York
871 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
USA
Jennifer Audet
Communications Officer
Audet@GermanInnovation.org
(212) 339 8680, ext. 302

This release was published on openPR.