Claudia de Rham at the Harvard Science Center
Schedule
Tue, 03 Dec, 2024 at 06:00 pm
Location
Harvard University Science Center Bldg, Hall C | Cambridge, MA
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Harvard Book Store, the Harvard University Division of Science, and the Harvard Library welcome Claudia de Rham—professor of theoretical physics at Imperial College London and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences—for a discussion of her book "The Beauty of Falling: A Life in Pursuit of Gravity". She will be joined in conversation by Tasneem Zehra Husain—Fellow at the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Engagement at Dartmouth College, string theorist, and author of the popular science novel "Only The Longest Threads".RSVP for this event for free or purchase a book included ticket
ABOUT "The Beauty of Falling"
A world-renowned physicist seeks gravity’s true nature and finds wisdom in embracing its force in her life
Claudia de Rham has been playing with gravity her entire life. As a diver, experimenting with her body’s buoyancy in the Indian Ocean. As a pilot, soaring over Canadian waterfalls on dark mornings before beginning her daily scientific research. As an astronaut candidate, dreaming of the experience of flying free from Earth’s pull. And as a physicist, discovering new sides to gravity’s irresistible personality by exploring the limits of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. In "The Beauty of Falling", de Rham shares captivating stories about her quest to gain intimacy with gravity, to understand both its feeling and fundamental nature. Her life’s pursuit led her from a twist of fate that snatched away her dream of becoming an astronaut to an exhilarating breakthrough at the very frontiers of gravitational physics.
While many of us presume to know gravity quite well, the brightest scientists in history have yet to fully answer the simple question: what exactly is gravity? De Rham reveals how great minds—from Newton and Einstein to Stephen Hawking, Andrea Ghez, and Roger Penrose—led her to the edge of knowledge about this fundamental force. She found hints of a hidden side to gravity at the particle level where Einstein’s theory breaks down, leading her to develop a new theory of “massive gravity.” De Rham shares how her life’s path turned from a precipitous fall to an exquisite flight toward the discovery of something entirely new about our surprising, gravity-driven universe.
BIOS
Claudia de Rham is professor of theoretical physics at Imperial College London and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The recipient of numerous prizes and awards, she is ranked among the most influential researchers in fundamental physics of the past decade.
Tasneem Zehra Husain came to writing via theoretical physics. Prior to writing her popular science novel Only The Longest Threads, Tasneem received her PhD from Stockholm University - becoming Pakistan’s first female string theorist, - spent time as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University, and was one of the founding faculty members at an elite school of science & engineering in her hometown, Lahore. Tasneem has spoken at writing conferences, physics conferences, and festivals, including the Boston Book Festival, the Cambridge Science Festival, and How The Light Gets In. She has conducted several science writing workshops including a series at CERN. Tasneem has been a regular columnist for 3quarksdaily.com and her writing has been published in Nautilus Magazine and New Humanist Magazine as well as several anthologies. She is a Fellow at the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Engagement at Dartmouth College.
MASKING POLICY
Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.
HARVAQRD SCIENCE BOOK TALKS
The Harvard Science Book Talks series is a collaboration between the Harvard University Division of Science, the Harvard Library, and Harvard Book Store. The series features talks by the authors of recently published books on a variety of science-related topics and is open to both the Harvard community and to the general public. Typically, lectures are followed by a book signing with the author and refreshments. Learn more and watch recordings of past talks here: https://science.fas.harvard.edu/book-talks
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Where is it happening?
Harvard University Science Center Bldg, Hall C, 1 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138-2901, United States,Cambridge, MassachusettsEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
