Department Colloquia

Upcoming Department Colloquia



Physics and Astronomy Colloquium: "Biological tissues as mechanical metamaterials"

Lisa Manning (Syracuse University)
- David Rittenhouse Laboratory, A8

Abstract: In multicellular organisms, properly programmed collective motion is required to form tissues and organs, and this programming breaks down in diseases like cancer. Recent experimental work…



Physics and Astronomy Colloquium: "Solar Geoengineering"

David Keith (Harvard University)
- See Zoom link below


Rittenhouse Lecture: "TBA"

Martha Haynes (Cornell University)
- David Rittenhouse Laboratory, A8


Physics and Astronomy Colloquium: "TBA"

Harold F. Levison (Southwest Research Institute)
- See Zoom link below


Physics and Astronomy Colloquium: "TBA"

Pablo Jarillo-Herrera (M.I.T.)
- See Zoom link below

Past Department Colloquia



Physics and Astronomy Colloquium: "The synergy of biophysics and active materials" *POSTPONED*

Arnold Matthijssen (University of Pennsylvania)
- David Rittenhouse Laboratory, A8 (also see Zoom link below)

Understanding the physics of living systems allows us to design new materials that are active and adaptive, akin to cells and tissues. Conversely, these active matter systems can reveal fundamental…



Physics and Astronomy Colloquium: "Uncovering New Transport Regimes and Light-Induced Phases in Quantum Materials "

Margaret Murnane (University of Colorado – Boulder)
- See Zoom link below

High harmonic generation (HHG) is a unique quantum light source with fundamentally new capabilities, by up-converting femtosecond lasers to very short wavelengths. This produces fully spatially and…



Physics and Astronomy Colloquium: "Non-thermal pathways to quantum matter "

Martin Claassen (University of Pennsylvania)
- Zoom link below

Quantum materials host a wide range of phenomena that challenge our physical understanding while offering intriguing possibilities for next-generation technologies. A promising direction towards…



Physics and Astronomy Colloquium: “Pursuing cosmic puzzles with galaxy surveys”

Bhuvnesh Jain (University of Pennsylvania)
- Zoom link below

The universe is expanding faster than any reasonable theoretical prediction! This challenge to the standard model of cosmology frames the interpretation of the Dark Energy Survey and other…



Physics and Astronomy Colloquium: “The String Landscape and the Swampland"

Cumrun Vafa (Harvard University)
- NOTE: FROM NOW ON, ALL COLLOQUIA WILL BEGIN AT 3:00 PM!

String theory landscape of vacua point to new consistency conditions that a quantum gravitational system must satisfy.  There are only a small number of quantum field theories that satisfy these…