PaSSiON foR KNOWLedge Celebrating 10 years of Donostia International Physics Center Donostia-San Sebastian 27 SEPT-1 OCT 2010 www. dipc10. eu Information Program Lecture abstracts Speaker biographies Cultural activities Encounters Exhibitions Contest
32
Embed
Passion for Knowledge conference program and speaker booklet
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Passion forKnowledgeCelebrating 10 years ofDonostia International Physics Center
Donostia-San Sebastian27 SEPT-1OCT 2010
www.dipc10.eu
InformationProgram
Lecture abstracts
Speaker biographies
Cultural act iv i t ies
Encounters
Exhibi t ions
Contest
Donostia International Physics Center – DIPC – was founded in
the year 2000 to promote research and knowledge in the fields
of condensed matter physics and materials science. During this
10 year period, DIPC has managed to bring to the city of Donostia,
scientists from all over the world and has acted as a platform for
talented young researchers to return to the Basque Country
through the Gipuzkoa Fellows Program. It has also organized in-
ternational meetings and conferences, and played an active role
in communicating science to society. After 10 years of activity,
Passion for Knowledge brings together scientists and other
humanists from different disciplines and cultures, all of whom
are motivated by a shared passion for knowledge and discov-
ery. We shall be sharing with them this passion for knowledge
as the driving force behind cultural progress, as well as a
source for innovation and economic and social development.
DIPC intends to foster in our society, and particularly amongst
our youngest citizens, an atmosphere which will awaken their
curiosity, interest, fascination and enthusiasm for knowledge.
Because Passion for Knowledge is our celebration of a decade
of hard work, but above all has its sights set on the future.
It’s the beginning of a new decade.
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .05
Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Lectures and activities day-by-dayPlease note that all the lectures in the program are held in the Kursaal Conference
Center. See specific venues for other activities.
Lecture abstracts and speaker biographies
See the complete list of activities in San Sebastian forPassion for Knowledge by visiting:http://www.dipc10.eu/en/full-program
All the Passion for Knowledge lectures are streamedand available for viewing at: http://dipc.tv
follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
PROGRAM
www.dipc10.eu 05
17:30 Welcome
Pedro Miguel Echenique
President of DIPC
Isabel Celaá
Minister of the Department of Education, Universities
and Research of the Basque Government
18:00 Opening Lectures
Robert Langer2008 PRInCE OF ASTURIAS AWARD
novel biomaterials
19:00 Aaron Ciechanover2004 nOBEL PRIzE In ChEMISTRy
Drug Development in the 21st century.Are we going to cure all diseases?
Monday
27 september
Tuesday
28 september
tHe city
tHe city
ON science Video ContestDeadline: 15 October 2010
Visit www.onzientzia.tv to enter!
06 www.dipc10.eu
kutxaEspacio encounter for studentsRoald Hoffman1981 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
Frank Wilczek2004 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS
Juan Ignacio Cirac2006 PRINCE OF ASTURIAS AWARD
10:30
17:00 Juan Ignacio Cirac2006 PRInCE OF ASTURIAS AWARD
Quantum Physics: A new view of nature and much more
18:00 Jean-Marie Lehn1987 nOBEL PRIzE In ChEMISTRy
From matter to life: Chemistry? Chemistry!
19:00 Richard Ernst1991 nOBEL PRIzE In ChEMISTRy
Passion and responsibility. Education, magnetic resonance, and Central Asian painting art
20:00 Sylvia Earle2009 TED PRIzE
The urgency of exploring the deep frontier
www.dipc10.eu
29 september
Wednesday
www.dipc10.eu 07
tHe city
kutxaEspacio encounter for teachersDudley Herschbach1986 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
Heinrich Rohrer1986 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji1997 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS
10:30
17:00 Dudley Herschbach1986 nOBEL PRIzE In ChEMISTRy
Taming wild molecules
18:00 Theodor Hänsch2005 nOBEL PRIzE In PhySICS
A passion for precision
19:00 Frank Wilczek2004 nOBEL PRIzE In PhySICS
Anticipating a new Golden Age
20:00 Bernardo Atxaga2008 PREMIO LETTERARIO InTERnAzIOnALE MOnDELLO
Poem for my friend Lazkano
Thursday
30 september
tHe city
20 sept – 10 oct
PASSION FOR artFotcienciaAquarium Donostia–San Sebastián
08 www.dipc10.eu
tHe city
Aquarium encounter for studentsSylvia Earle2009 TED PRIZE
Ada Yonath2009 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
10:30
17:00 Roald Hoffmann1981 nOBEL PRIzE In ChEMISTRy
Chemistry’s essential tensions: Three views
18:00 Claude Cohen-Tannoudji1997 nOBEL PRIzE In PhySICS
Using light for manipulating atoms
19:00 Luis De Pablo2003 PRIx MUSICAL InTERnATIOnAL ARThUR hOnEGGER
Passion for music: another kind of “knowledge”
PASSION FOR artNanoArt21La Bretxa Shopping CenterDonostia–San Sebastián
17:00 Sir John PendryFELLOW OF ThE ROyAL SOCIETy
Invisible cloaks and a perfect lens
18:00 Ada Yonath2009 nOBEL PRIzE In ChEMISTRy
Everests, polar bears, unpaved roads, antibiotics and the evolving ribosome
I The flight lasted eight hours, and it took a further two hours to get out of the airport andfind the car that had come to fetch us. Our daughters were exhausted, and the youngest,who was then only three, immediately fell asleep. not so our eldest, who was five at the time.‘I’m thinking,’ she said after a while, when we asked why she couldn’t sleep. She added thatsomething odd had happened. ‘I didn’t see the people,’ she said. ‘All that time travellingthrough the sky and I didn’t see them. ’ We asked her which people she was referring to: ‘Thepeople who are dead,’ she answered.
II We were driving across the Arizona desert. Fancifully shaped rocks rose out of the earthlike small islands in a reddish sea. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
We told the girls to look out of the car window and contemplate that landscape so differentfrom our own and from that of any other country in Europe. They did as asked, but, beingchildren, only long enough to appear to be obeying before getting back to their own affairs,which are rarely contemplative. We tried again and spoke of the members of our family whohad never made a journey like that. ‘They would be amazed to see this desert. Look how bigit is. It goes on and on.’
‘I really really wish Ignacio was here,’ our youngest daughter said suddenly; she was eight bythen. She was referring to a friend of whom she was very fond and who had died shortly be-fore we set off for America.
We all hastened to agree, especially her older sister, who was now ten. Aware of her respon-sibilities, she said: ‘Ignacio went to heaven, so he won’t feel any need to see the desert.’I supported this point of view. I spoke of Ignacio’s long life and the good times we had en-joyed together. I resorted to the same metaphor: ‘Don’t you worry. Ignacio will be very happyin heaven.’
‘I’m not so sure,’ she said. ‘It can’t be very nice being so high up.’
Bernardo Atxaga2008 PREMIO LETTERARIO InTERnAzIOnALE MOnDELLO
Euskaltzaindia (Royal Academy of the Basque Language)Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
Bernando atxaga graduated in economics from the university of the Basque country. Mr. atxaga is
internationally acclaimed as one of the major writers in euskara, the Basque language. He is the most
widely translated Basque writer and has been awarded the most number of prizes. among his many
awards include: the euskadi Prize (1989, 1997, 1999), the spanish fiction award (1989), Paris Milepages
(1991), the atlantic Pyrenees three crowns award (1995), the eusko ikaskuntza Prize (2002), the cesare
Pavese award for Poetry (2003), the Mondello Prize for international literature (2008) and the grinzane
cavour Prize (2008) and the spanish critics’ Prize (1978, 1985, 1988, 1993, 2003). He regularly lectures
at universities around the world and appears as an essential author on lists of 21st century writers such
as the observer’s “21 top writers” list of 1999.
Wednesday 20:00
BIO
Poem for my friend Lazkano
12 www.dipc10.eu
Many important drugs such as penicillin, aspirin, or digitalis, were discovered by serendipity — someby curious researchers who noted an accidental phenomenon, some by isolation of active ingre-dients form plants known for centuries to have a specific therapeutic effect. Other major drugslike statins were discovered using more advanced technologies, such as targeted screening, yet,the discoverers were looking for a different effect. In all these cases, the mechanisms of actionwere largely unknown at the time of their discovery, and were discovered only later. With the realization that not all patients with diseases that physically and histopathologically appear to bethe same —different malignancies for example— respond similarly to treatment, and their clinicalbehavior is different, we have begun to understand that their molecular basis is distinct. Accordingly,we are exiting the era where our approach to treatment is “one size fits all”, and enter a new oneof “personalized medicine” where we shall tailor the treatment according to the patient’s molecu-lar/mutational profile. here, unlike the previous era, the understanding of the mechanism will drivethe development of the new drugs. This era will be characterized the development of technologieswhere sequencing and processing of individual genomes will be cheap (US$ <1,000) and fast (afew min), by identification and characterization of new disease-specific molecular markers anddrug targets, and by design of novel, mechanism-based, drugs to modulate the activities of thesetargets. It will require a change in our approach to scientific research and development and to edu-cation, where interdisciplinarity will domineer and replace in many ways the traditional, discipline-oriented approach.
Aaron Ciechanover2004 nOBEL PRIzE In ChEMISTRy
Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), haifa, Israel
aaron ciechanover was born in Haifa (israel). He received his Msc (1971) and Md (1975) from the Hebrewuniversity in Jerusalem, and his dsc (1982) from technion of which he is a distinguished researchProfessor. there, as a graduate student with Prof. avram Hershko and in collaboration with Prof. irwina. rose from the fox chase cancer center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (usa), they discovered thatcovalent attachment of ubiquitin to a target protein signals it for degradation. they deciphered themechanism of conjugation, described the general proteolytic functions of the system, and proposed amodel according to which this modification serves as a recognition signal for a specific downstreamprotease. as a post doctoral fellow with Prof. Harvey lodish at the Massachusetts institute of technol-ogy (Mit) in cambridge, Massachusetts, Prof. ciechanover continued his studies on the ubiquitin sys-tem. through further research it became clear that ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis plays major roles innumerous cellular processes, and aberrations in the system underlie the pathogenetic mechanisms ofmany diseases, among them certain malignancies and neurodegenerative disorders. consequently,the system has become an important platform for drug development. among the numerous prizesProf. ciechanover has received are: the 2000 albert lasker award, the 2003 israel Prize, and the 2004nobel Prize in chemistry which was shared with Prof. Hershko and Prof. rose. ciechanover is memberof the israeli national academy of sciences and Humanities, the Pontifical academy of sciences of theVatican, the american academy of arts and sciences, the national academy of sciences (usa), andthe institute of Medicine of the national academy of sciences.
BIO
Drug Development in the 21st century. Are we going to cure all diseases?
Monday 19:00
www.dipc10.eu 13
Quantum Mechanics is a theory for the microscopic world which was developed during the last
century. Most aspects of such theory are exploited in most of the electronical devices we use in
our everyday life: computers, television sets, lasers, etc operate thanks to the laws of Quantum
Mechanics. however, there exist other aspects of that theory, more misterious and even exotic,
that could give rise to completely new applications in the fields of communication and computa-
tion. Those are related to the existence of superposition states; that is, situations where an object
seem to be in two places at the same time, or to have two opposite physical properties. Phenom-
ena related to superposition states have been recently tested giving rise to a series of results which
defy our basic understanding. In this talk I will explain what we know about those phenomena,
some of their philosophical implications, and the consequences they may have in the future of
computation and communication.
Juan Ignacio Cirac2006 PRInCE OF ASTURIAS AWARD
Max Planck Institute of Quantum OpticsGarching, Germany
Juan ignacio cirac was born in Manresa (spain). in 1988, he graduated in theoretical Physics from the
complutense university of Madrid, and subsequently received his Phd in 1991. Prof. cirac is a member
of the Max Planck society since 2001, when he was appointed director of the Max Planck institute of
Quantum optics in garching (germany). as an expert in quantum computation and its application in
the field of information, the focus of his research work is the quantum theory of information. His the-
ories propose that quantum computers will bring a new revolution to the field of information, as it will
lead to more efficient communication and far greater security in both data processing and bank trans-
fers. He is a corresponding member of both the spanish and the austrian academies of sciences, as
well as the american Physical society. Prof. cirac has won many awards including the felix Kuschenitz
Prize at the austrian academy of sciences (2001), the Quantum electronics from the european science
foundation (2005), the Prince of asturias Prize for scientific and technical research (2006), the fron-
tiers of Knowledge and culture award for basic science given by the BBVa foundation (2008) and,
most recently, the 2010 Benjamin franklin Medal in Physics.
BIO
Quantum Physics: A new view of Nature andmuch more
Tuesday 17:00
14 www.dipc10.eu
www.dipc10.eu 15
Understanding the nature of light and its interactions with matter has always been a challenge for
Physics. new concepts have emerged from these investigations, such as the wave particle duality.
new mechanisms for the generation of light have been discovered, leading to the realization of
new light sources, called "lasers", with remarkable properties. It has been also realized that light is
not only a source of information on atoms but also a tool for manipulating atoms, for controlling
their polarization, their position and their velocity, This has opened the way to a wealth of applica-
tions like optical pumping, magnetic resonance imaging, ultra-precise atomic clocks, atomic inter-
ferometers, Bose Einstein condensates. This lecture will describe in a simple way how these
developments having occurred during the last few decades. It will be also shown how advances
of fundamental research can open the way to new unexpected applications which transform our
daily life.
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji1997 nOBEL PRIzE In PhySICS
Collège de France and École normale supérieureParis, France
claude cohen-tannoudji is a french physicist born in constantine (algeria). in 1962, he completed his
Phd in 1962 at the École normale supérieure (ens) in Paris. in 1960, he joined the centre national de
la recherche scientifique (cnrs), a connection he maintained until 1964 when he was appointed Pro-
fessor at the university of Paris. in 1973, he was elected Professor of atomic and molecular physics at
the collège de france in Paris, a position he held for many years. Prof. cohen-tannoudji’s teaching ex-
perience led him to publish several textbooks, which are appreciated by undergraduate and graduate
physics students. He pioneered the research into the various mechanisms that can be used to slow
down, cool and trap atoms with a laser beam. cohen-tannoudji and his team, were among the first to
cool atoms to very low temperatures, lower than one millionth of a degree above absolute zero. the
techniques designed by cohen-tannoudji and other scientists have resulted in various specific appli-
cations, such as more accurate atomic clocks and more precise atomic interferometers and gyrometers
to measure the force of gravity and a rotation speed. these techniques have also been essential for
producing new states of matter like Bose-einstein condensates. Prof. cohen-tannoudji has received
many distinctions, among them the 1997 nobel Prize in Physics shared with steven Phillips and steven
chu for the development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light.
BIO
Using light for manipulating atoms
Thursday 18:00Wednesday 10:30encounter
We should not overlook the fact that the first statement is taken from the modern scientific world,
where the word “knowledge” has a clear, precise meaning: research in order to understand part of
reality, through proven theories which, in certain cases, can actually help us to use that reality. In
the music world, this “knowledge” only exists in the field of performing, and as basic training during
the learning period: you cannot be a musician if you cannot read and write music, and neither is
it a good idea to compose music without knowledge, mastery of past techniques, for example.
Apart from this kind of knowledge, which is more concerned with craftsmanship, the word has no
meaning when we refer to “creation” (also quite a “dubious” word in its own right) or enjoyment.
Does that mean music is of no use for achieving “knowledge”? Or could it be that the word “knowl-
edge” transcends the field of science, and that human beings are not using their full ability to reason
or their sensitivity in science, and that there are infinite ways of attaining “knowledge”? Could it
perhaps be necessary (or beneficial, at least) for us to dare to explore — albeit reticently — the
meaning of some of our words? I’m not a Wittgensteinian (I don’t make the grade), even though
I’m quite annoyed by Stephen hawking’s comments on one of the philosopher’s statements, “The
sole remaining task for philosophy is the analysis of language,” to which hawking retorts: “What a
comedown from the great tradition of philosophy from Aristotle to Kant!”. Although it is also true
that a few paragraphs further on he almost seems to aspire to “know the mind of God”. That’s not
bad, is it? In spite of all this and from my humble, although constant — 60 years — stance as a
composer, I would like to “stick my oar in” on this issue, perilous as it may be and unfathomable
perhaps, but fascinating all the same.
Luis De Pablo2003 PRIx MUSICAL InTERnATIOnAL ARThUR hOnEGGER
Jakiunde (Basque Academy of Science, Arts and humanities)
luis de Pablo was born in Bilbao (spain). entirely self-taught, he began studying music at the age of
seven and composing at the age of twelve. He attended composition classes with Max deutsch in Paris
and courses in darmstadt (germany) from 1956 onwards. in 1964 he founded spain’s first laboratory
of electronic Music and in 1965 he created the alea Private centre, where modern chamber music
and music of non-european cultures were performed for eight years. de Pablo has composed over
150 works in all genres, including orchestral, chamber music, soloist, concert performances, vocal, elec-
tronic and five operas, all of which have been performed many times by renowned musicians. de Pablo
received an Honorary doctorate from complutense university of Madrid (1996) and numerous merits
including the Honegger Prize (2003), the Prince Pierre foundation of Monaco’s Prize of Musical com-
position (2004), the guerrero foundation Prize for Music (2006) and most recently the tomás luis de
Victoria award (2009).
BIO
Passion for music:another kind of “knowledge”
Thursday 19:00
16 www.dipc10.eu
More has been learned about the nature of the ocean in the past century than during all preceding
human history, but at the same time, more has been lost owing to the growing impact that people
are having on the sea through what is being put into it, and what is being taken out. Less than 5%
of the ocean floor has been explored or mapped with the degree of accuracy known for Mars,
but enough is known to realize that in the past fifty years, nearly half of the coral reefs have been
lost or have seriously declined, 90% of many commercially-fished species are gone and more than
400 dead zones have appeared in coastal zones globally. Rapid global warming, sea level rise,
ocean acidification and other troubling trends require urgent attention. This presentation will con-
sider new technologies and a new era of ocean exploration vital to understand these phenomena,
as well as the changes in ocean chemistry, biodiversity and the composition and structure of
marine ecosystems, with special reference to the present and future consequences to humankin.
Sylvia Earle2009 TED PRIzE
national Geographic Society, USA
sylvia earle was born in gibbytown, new Jersey (usa). she earned her Bsc degree from st. Petersburg
college and florida state university. she holds a Msc and Phd from duke university and 19 honorary
doctorates. Prof. earle is an oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer, explorer in residence of the
national geographic society (ngs), leader of the ngs sustainable seas expeditions, council chair for
the Harte research institute, founder of the deep search foundation, and formerly the chief scientist
of national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa). founder of three companies, she serves
on various corporate and non-profit boards. Her research concerns marine ecosystems with special
reference to exploration and the development and use of new technologies for access and effective
operations in the deep sea and other remote environments. named as time Magazine’s first Hero for
the Planet and a living legend by the library of congress, she has more than 100 national and inter-
national awards. Honors include the netherlands order of the golden ark, inclusion in the national
women’s Hall of fame and the american academy of achievement, and medals from the explorers
club, the Philadelphia academy of sciences, the lindbergh foundation, the national wildlife federation,
sigma Xi, Barnard college, the new england aquarium, the seattle aquarium, the society of women
geographers, and the national Parks conservation association.
BIO
The urgency of exploringthe deep frontier
Tuesday 20:00
www.dipc10.eu 17
Mark T
hie
ssen
Wednesday 10:30encounter
Passion and responsibility were two major driving forces in my professional and private endeavours.Passion has an emotional origin. It leads to curiosity and the desire to understand. Responsibility,on the other hand, originates from the recognition of societal connectivity and interdependence.It stems from the need to serve society by educating future leaders and by solving urgent problemsthat might even threaten global survival. Education is by far the most relevant academic task, whileresearch is a most efficient educational tool.
In my professional engagement, I was enormously lucky that my contributions in the developmentof magnetic resonance led to novel tools of undeniable societal importance. Magnetic resonancehas today an extremely broad spectrum of applications ranging from solid state physics to chem-istry, molecular biology, and to brain imaging. It was evident to me from the beginning that onlybroad, comprehensive approaches and interdisciplinary engagements will lead to advances in sci-ence as well as in the humanities. So to say, as a counterbalance to my scientific activities, I becamedeeply fascinated by Central Asian painting art. During the past millennium, it has developed anenormous virtuosity in the graphical representation of emotions and of aspects that are beyond amathematical scientific description. In this way it is complementary and addresses human domainsnot properly addressed by science.
however, my overarching thoughts are dominated by deep concerns regarding a beneficial futureof mankind. Undeniably, we are living today on the account of future generations and follow afrightfully non-sustainable track. To find avenues toward a better world and toward more con-science, compassion, and foresight among our fellow-citizens should be a most important goalof all academic endeavours.
Richard Ernst1991 nOBEL PRIzE In ChEMISTRy
richard ernst was born in winterthur (switzerland). He studied and subsequently served on the facultyof the swiss federal institute of technology (etH-Zurich) from which he is now retired. Prof. ernst received both his diplomas in chemistry (1957) and Phd in physical chemistry (1962) from etH. from1963 to 1968 he worked as a research chemist at Varian associates in Palo alto, california (usa). in1968 he returned to switzerland to teach at etH and became professor in 1976. He is a Honorary doctorof the technical university of Munich and the university of Zurich. Prof. ernst was awarded the nobelPrize in chemistry in 1991 for his contributions towards the development of fourier transform nuclearmagnetic resonance (nMr) spectroscopy while at Varian associates and the subsequent developmentof multi-dimensional nMr techniques. these underpin applications of nMr both to chemistry (nMrspectroscopy) and to medicine (Mri). Prof. ernst also received louisa gross Horwitz Prize in 1991. Heis member of the world Knowledge dialogue scientific Board and foreign fellow of the Bangladeshacademy of sciences. the 2009 Bel air film festival featured the world premiere of a documentaryfilm on ernst; science Plus dharma equals social responsibility.
BIO
Passion and responsibility. Education,magnetic resonance,and Central Asian painting art
Wednesday 17:00
18 www.dipc10.eu
Fifty years ago, the inventors of the laser were motivated by
curiosity. They could not foresee that lasers would become indispensible tools for technology and
science. During the last decade, lasers have revolutionized precision measurements of time and
frequency. Laser frequency makes it possible to accurately count the ripples of a light wave, and
they have become the most precise measuring tools available to man. Their invention has been
motivated by precise optical spectroscopy of the simple hydrogen atom, which is yielding accurate
values of fundamental constants and permits stringent test of fundamental physics laws. Today,
laser combs provide the long missing clockwork for optical atomic clocks, with applications rang-
ing from new tests of Einstein’s theory of relativity to telecommunications and satellite navigation.
Laser combs are revolutionizing molecular spectroscopy by dramatically extending the resolution
and recording speed of Fourier spectrometers. high harmonic generation promises to extend fre-
quency comb techniques and precise spectroscopy into the extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray
regime. The calibration of astronomical spectrographs with laser combs will enable new searches
for earth-like planets in distant solar systems, and may reveal the continuing expansion of space
in the universe. By offering control of the electric field of extremely short light pulses, laser combs
have become key tools for the emerging field of attosecond science.
Theodor hänsch2005 nOBEL PRIzE In PhySICS
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Garching, andLudwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany
theodor Hänsch was born in Heidelberg (germany). He obtained his diploma and Phd from the
ruprecht-Karls-universität in Heidelberg in 1969. He subsequently worked as a professor at stanford
university in california (usa) from 1975. in 1986, Prof. Hänsch returned to germany, both as director
of the Max-Planck-institut für Quantenoptik and as Professor of experimental physics and laser spec-
troscopy at the ludwig-Maximilians-universität in Munich. in 1970, he invented a new type of laser
which generated light pulses with an extremely high spectral resolution. using this device, he managed
to measure the transition frequency of the Balmer line of atomic hydrogen with a much higher preci-
sion than any previous techniques. in the late 90s, he developed with his team a new refined method
to measure the frequency of laser light even more accurately, using a device called the optical frequency
comb generator. He then used this new technique to measure the lyman line of atomic hydrogen to
the extraordinary accuracy of one part in one hundred trillion. with this precision we can now detect
changes in the fundamental physical constants of the universe. Prof. Hänsch received the nobel Prize
in Physics in 2005 for his contributions in the development of laser-based spectroscopy.
BIO
A passion for precision
Wednesday 18:00
www.dipc10.eu 19
Chemical reactions ordinarily occur within vast mobs of
molecules, obscuring what actually happens. This talk will describe how such molecular wildness
has been tamed to reveal the intimate dynamics of single reactive collisions between pairs of
molecules. Key tools have been supersonic jets that send beams of molecules traveling into high
vacuum; spectroscopic techniques, especially exploiting lasers; and extremely sensitive detection
methods. As well as illustrating some prototypical cases, my talk will emphasize beckoning frontiers.
Among them is pursuit of ultracold conditions which make the molecules, in accord with quantum
mechanics, behave like waves rather than particles. Another exotic emerging area, dealing with