Virginia Tech Faculty of Science‘s J. Mark Sowers Special Lecture Series The first lecture of the year with Cornell University physics professor Nigel Lockyer will be held on Tuesday, September 19th at 7:30 pm in the Holtzman Alumni Center Assembly Hall.
All talks are free and open to the public. The Holtzman Alumni Center is located at his 901 Prices Fork Road in Blacksburg.
Lockyer is an experimental particle physicist who most recently served as director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (also known as Fermilab) from 2013 to 2022. Previously, from 2007 until 2013, he served as Director of TRIUMF, Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics. He is currently a professor of physics at Cornell University, but previously taught at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of British Columbia.
Lockyer’s topic is “Particles and accelerators are tools: What are they good for?”
About his lecture, he said: “Humans have used tools since the Stone Age. Today, tools are ubiquitous and increasingly sophisticated. This talk begins with a brief history of subatomic particles and accelerators, from manufacturing to advanced medical procedures, I’ll explain how we use them for all sorts of things, from advances in science. The talk ends with thoughts about the future of the field.”
He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and received the Society’s 2006 Panofsky Prize for his pioneering work on bottom quarks. Among numerous honours, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 2022. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics from York University in Toronto and his PhD from York University in Toronto. He received his PhD in physics from Ohio State University.
Lockyer was invited to speak by Kevin Pitts, dean of the College of Science and a particle physicist himself. Department of Physics. Before coming to Virginia Tech, Pitts worked as a principal investigator at Fermilab.
“We are delighted to have Nigel Lockyer join us for the first Sowers Lecture of the new year. From ground-breaking measurements to leadership in innovative global collaborations, he is a true game-changer in the physics community. ” Pitts said.
The College of Science’s J. Mark Sowers Distinguished Lecture Series is a forum for the exchange of new and innovative ideas in the sciences.series Started in February 2017.
It has attracted prominent domestic and international scholars, including laser physicists, nanoscientists, astrophysicists, applied mathematicians, the director of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute, and statisticians specializing in machine learning. Discussions delved into brain science, language and hearing development, black holes, and more.
With generous support from Mark Sowers and Debi Sowers, this series provides an opportunity for the university community and the public to interact with and learn from distinguished academics and industry experts. Mark Sowers is a Richmond-based businessman, developer, and long-time supporter of the College of Science. He is sponsoring this series to share his fascination with science with others.
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