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Nobel Laurate Physics Seminar

The UW-La Crosse Distinguished Lecture Series in Physics (DLS) is co-sponsored by the UW-La Crosse Foundation, the Department of Physics, the College of Science and Health, and Wettstein's.  The purpose of the series is to bring to La Crosse each year a world-renowned physicist whose significant accomplishments can inspire and enrich the lives and careers of students, faculty, and the community in general.

On October 26-27, 2017, J. Michael Kosterlitz, D.Phil., the co-winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics, will be the 18th Nobel Laureate to visit UW-La Crosse.  Both the lecture and seminar are open to the public.

J. Michael Kosteritz, D.Phil., is a theoretical physicist recognized for this work with David J. Thouless, Ph.D., on the application of topological ideas to the theory of phase transitions in two-dimensional systems with a continuous symmetry. The theory has been applied to thin films of superfluid 4He, to superconductors, and to melting of two-dimenional solids.  Experiments on two-dimensional layers of colloidal crystals agree with theoretical predictions in quantitative detail.  This work was recognized by the Lars Onsager Prize in 2000 and the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2016.  Dr. Kosterlitz was elected to the National Academy of Science (NAS) and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS).

Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1943, Dr. Kosterlitz graduated from the University of Cambridge earning a BA in physics in 1965, an MA in 1966, and a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford in 1969.  He was a postdoctoral fellow at Torino University, Italy, in 1970 and at the University of Birmingham, U.K., from 1970-1973.  There he met David Thouless, and together they did their groundbreaking work on phase transitions mediated by topological defects in two dimensions. Dr. Kosterlitz was a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University in 1974, on the faculty of the University of Birmingham from 1974-81, and Professor of Physics at Brown University from 1982 to the present.

Topological Defects and Phase Transitions

The Public Lecture and Seminar will review some of the applications of topology and topological defects in phase transitions in two-dimensional systems for which Drs. Kosterlitz and Thouless shared the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics.  Their work opened a door on an unknown world where matter can assume strange states.  They used advanced mathematical methods to study unusual phases or states of matter such as superconductors and superfluids.  The theoretical predictions and experimental verification in two-dimensional superfluids, superconductors, and crystals will be reviewed as they provide very convincing quantitative agreement with topological defect theories.

More Information

When

Past occurrences (1)

  • 3:20 to 4:20 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, 2017

Where

1400 Centennial Hall

UWL campus map for building location and nearby parking lots.

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 1400 Centennial Hall

Contact

For questions about this event or to request disability accommodations , contact Gubbi Sudhakaran at 608.785.8431 or gsudhakaran@uwlax.edu.

Parking

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Use Passport Parking.

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