Loyola University Maryland's 2024 Grand Seminar Lecture

Sylvester James “Jim” Gates, Jr., Ph.D., a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a theoretical physicist at the University of Maryland (UMD), will present the 2024 Grand Seminar lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m. in McGuire Hall. The event, presented by Loyola’s academic division of natural and applied sciences, is free and open to the public but advanced registration is required for in-person and virtual attendance.

Titled “How Quantum Gravity Became an Arena for Art, Mathematics & Science,” Gates’ presentation will explore M-theory, supersymmetry, and the use of visual arts on the journey to understanding quantum gravity. Theoretical physicist Albert Einstein once said, “After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are always artists as well,” and this talk will explain how.

Professor Gates works at the boundary of physics and mathematics. He is a theoretical physicist at the University of Maryland. He is a University System Regents Professor, the John S. Toll Professor of Physics, and a College Park Professor. He currently holds the Clark Leadership Chair in Science and serves as a Professor of Physics with the Physics Department as well as a being a Professor of Public Policy in the School of Public Policy, both at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. For his contributions to science and research, President Obama awarded Gates the National Medal of Science in 2013, the highest award given to scientists in the U.S.