DDLS talk to kick off celebration of Lawrence

Lawrence M. Krauss, an internationally known theoretical physicist, will present "The Atoms Inside Us: Restless Galactic Travelers," in honor of the centennial celebration of the birth of Ernest O. Lawrence.

Krauss’ talk is part of the Director’s Distinguished Lecturer Series and takes place at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 31, in the Bldg. 123 auditorium. Director Bruce Tarter invites all employees to attend.

Krauss is the Ambrose Swasey professor of physics, professor of astronomy, and chair of the Physics Department at Case Western Reserve University. His wide research interests include the interface between elementary particle physics and cosmology, where his studies include the early universe, the nature of dark matter, general relativity and neutrino astrophysics.

Krauss has previously appeared at the Lab to discuss "The Physics of Star Trek," based on his best-selling book of the same name. His DDLS lecture will pay tribute to Lawrence, for whom both Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley labs are named. Lawrence was born on Aug. 8, 1901 and died Aug. 27, 1958. The Krauss talk kicks off a number of centennial events that will take place in coming months at the Lab, including a special display at the Visitors Center in August. More details will appear in future editions of Newsline.

Krauss is the recipient of numerous awards for his research, including the Gravity Research Foundation First Prize Award (1984), and the Presidential Investigator Award (1986), and is a fellow of the American Physical Society. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982, then joined the Harvard Society of Fellows. In 1985 he joined the faculty of Physics at Yale University, and moved to take his current appointment in 1993.

Krauss wrote more than 180 scientific publications, as well as numerous popular articles on physics and astronomy. In addition, Krauss is the author of six popular books, among them "Atom: An Odyssey from the Big Bang to Life on Earth... and Beyond," "Fear of Physics" and two titles discussing the physics of "Star Trek."

In 2000, Krauss was awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Award for the Public Understanding of Science and Technology, joining previous awardees Carl Sagan and E.O.Wilson. In April, he received the 2001 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society for "outstanding contributions to the understanding of the early universe, and extraordinary achievement in communicating the essence of physical science to the general public."

That same month the American Institute of Physics awarded Krauss the 2001 Andrew Gemant Award, given annually to "a person who has made significant contributions to the cultural, artistic, or humanistic dimensions of physics." Previous awardees include Freeman Dyson, Steven Weinberg, and Stephen Hawking.