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Media Advisory 08-034
From the Expanding Universe, to the Quantum Realm and Many Points in Between
2008-2009 NSF Lectures explore the mathematical and physical sciences
October 27, 2008
The National Science Foundation (NSF) invites media and members of the public to a series of lectures sponsored by its Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. The talks will help promote a national discussion of issues that scientists believe will shape research in the years to come. The first talk 10 a.m., Monday, Oct. 27, by Steven Koonin, chief scientist at British Petroleum in London, is titled "Energy, Environment, Security: Can We Have It All?" The world's demand for energy will grow by some 60 percent in the next 25 years. Satisfying that demand in an economical and environmentally acceptable manner is one of the most significant challenges facing society. New technologies will play a central role in meeting this challenge, albeit conditioned by the economic, social, and political contexts in which they are developed and deployed. Koonin's presentation will focus on the major forces shaping the world's energy future and the technologies required to respond to them. All lectures will be held at NSF headquarters, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va., and attendees must have a visitor's pass to gain access. Please contact Public Affairs Specialist Lisa-Joy Zgorski at 703-292-8311, or lisajoy@nsf.gov, to register for a talk and obtain a pass. Complete Schedule of Lectures "Energy, Environment, Security: Can We Have It All?"
Steven Koonin (chief scientist, British Petroleum, London, England)
10:00 a.m., Oct. 27, 2008, Room Stafford II-555
NSF Event and Lecture Slides "Interdisciplinarity in the Age of Networks"
Jennifer Tour Chayes (managing director, Microsoft Research New England)
2:00 p.m., Nov. 17, 2008, Room 375 "Global Energy Perspectives"
Prof. Nathan Lewis (Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology)
2:00 p.m., Dec. 15, 2008, Room 375 "My Half-Century Experience in Technology and Diversity"
James West (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; National Medal of Technology; National Inventors' Hall of Fame)
2:00 p.m., Jan. 12, 2009, Room 375 "When Plasmons Interact, Worlds Collide: The Emerging Field of Nanophotonics"
Naomi Halas (Department of Chemistry, Rice University)
2:00 p.m., Feb. 23, 2009, Room Stafford II-555 "Measurements of the Expanding Universe"
Wendy Freedman (director, Carnegie Observatories)
2:00 p.m., March 9, 2009, Room 375 "Nanowire Building Blocks for Photonics and Energy Conversion"
Peidong Yang (Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley; NSF Waterman Award Winner)
2:00 p.m., April 20, 2009, Room 375 "A Sharper Image: Adaptive Optics Views of Black Holes in Nearby Galaxies"
Claire Max (NSF Center for Adaptive Optics, University of California, Santa Cruz)
2:00 p.m., May 18, 2009, Room 375 About the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences The Math and Physical Sciences Directorate comprises the divisions of Astronomical Sciences, Chemistry, Materials Research, Mathematical Sciences, Physics and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities. These divisions provide the basic structure for support of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and education. The scope of scientific and educational activity supported is enormous, ranging from phenomena at cosmological distances, to environmental science on the human scale, through quantum mechanical processes in atomic and subatomic physics, to phenomena of the unimaginably small. Researchers explore abstract ideas, concepts, and structures of mathematics as well as more tangible "stuff" that includes the materials used in our everyday lives. Their tools range from desktop instruments to synchrotron light sources, accelerators, radio and optical telescopes and high magnetic fields. The rapid development of computational and communications capabilities also is leading to the development of a new set of tools that enable new a new kind of science--cyberscience.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Lisa-Joy Zgorski, NSF (703) 292-8311 lisajoy@nsf.gov
Program Contacts
Andrew J. Lovinger, NSF (703) 292-4933 alovinge@nsf.gov
Related Websites
Math and Physical Sciences Directorate: http://www.nsf.gov/mps/about.jsp
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that
supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and
engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50
states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year,
NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over
11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in
professional and service contracts yearly.
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