By Adrian Aumen, College of Arts and Sciences
Washington State University Department of Physics and Astronomy will present “Quantum tools to explore the universe … and help life on Earth,” a free, public lecture by Harvard University physicist Ronald Walsworth, 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, in Webster Hall Room 16.
Walsworth is a senior physicist at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and a member of physics faculty at Harvard. He leads an interdisciplinary research group that develops precision measurement tools and applies them to problems in both the physical and life sciences.
“Scientists are exploiting quantum physics to advance the state-of-the-art in measurement and imaging, in order to search for Earthlike planets around other stars and probe the nature, history, and fate of the universe,” Walsworth said. “Sometimes, these quantum tools can also be applied to down-to-Earth problems — ranging from health to security and navigation. I will describe some examples that have emerged from my laboratory at Harvard.”
Walsworth’s current areas of research include new approaches to the search for dark matter; astronomical detection of Earth-like planets around other stars; and the development of quantum sensors and novel nuclear magnetic resonance tools, with applications ranging from condensed matter physics to neuroscience to Earth and planetary science.
Learn about other free events this month sponsored by physics and astronomy at WSU.
