You are invited to Kostas Skenderis’ inaugural lecture: ‘Our Universe as a hologram’.
Science was born out of our desire to explain the world around us and over the course of history we have learnt that what we perceive as physical reality based on everyday experiences may not accurately reflect the inner workings of Nature. In this lecture, Professor Skenderis will present the evolution of scientific theories describing physical reality, culminating with a discussion of the most recent ideas describing our Universe as a hologram. In this paradigm the laws of physics for the entire Universe are best formulated in terms of a theory in two spatial dimensions, analogously to how an optical hologram encodes a three dimensional image in a two dimensional surface, and this holographic theory is similar to electromagnetism and the theory describing the nuclear forces. One of the macroscopic dimensions perceived in everyday life and gravity itself both emerge from the dynamics of this two dimensional theory.
Professor Kostas Skenderis grew up in Greece and graduated from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki before carrying out his PhD at SUNY at Stony Brook, USA, under the guidance of the Dirac medalist Peter van Nieuwenhuizen. After postdoctoral appointments in Leuven, Belgium and Utrecht, Netherlands, Skenderis returned to the USA to take up an appointment at Princeton University, where he was an assistant professor until 2003. Skenderis spent the years 2003-2012 at the University of Amsterdam, as associate and then full professor, before moving to a professorship at Southampton. He is currently the deputy director of the new research centre, STAG, which aims to bridge astrophysics, high energy physics and mathematical relativity.
This lecture will start at 6pm (with refreshments from 5.30pm). On Wednesday 15 May in building 58 (Murray building) lecture theatre 1067, Highfield Campus.
A drinks reception will be held afterwards. RSVP: [email protected]
For more information, please contact: Sarah Dack, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, telephone: + 44 (0)23 8059 2522.