Winter 2003

2/1/2003 | The Philosophy of Time -- Thomas Hofweber (U-M Philosophy)

This talk will explore whether or not the present is philosophically special, if there is an important difference between past, present, and future, and how the semantics of tense in natural language might help with such questions. This is the first in a series of three lectures on time developed as part of the Rackham Summer Interdisciplinary Institute.

2/8/2003 | The Arrow of Time in Physics -- Timothy McKay (U-M Physics)

Time in the world around us marches inexorably forward. Yet the laws of physics make little distinction between past and future. We will explore some solutions to this seeming contradiction. This is the second in a series of three lectures on time developed as part of the Rackham Summer Interdisciplinary Institute.

2/15/2003 | The Timing of Biological Evolution | Vaughn Cooper (U-M Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology)

Evolution, the process of biological change, takes place on many time scales. Some 'living fossils' remain virtually unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, while each winter brings a newly adapted flu bug. This lecture will explore new experiments and ideas about time in evolution. It is the third in a series of lectures on time developed as part of the Rackham Summer Interdisciplinary Institute.

3/13/2003 | The Physics of Nothing -- David Gerdes (U-M Physics)

The vacuum, "empty space," turns out to be a complicated and dynamic place, the stage for some of the greatest mysteries in physics. This talk will describe our current understanding of the vacuum, and what we may learn from it in the next ten years about the origin of mass and the fate of the Universe.

3/22/2003 | Radioactivity: Glow Blue! -- Henry Griffin (U-M Chemistry)

In spite of the title of this session, the radiations associated with radioactivity are rarely visible. We will explore the various types of radioactivity and the detectors that can "see" the radiations (a, ß, ?, e, ?).

3/29/2003 | Radioactivity: What's the Use? -- Henry Griffin (U-M Chemistry)

Dating in geology and archeology. Chemical tracers. Sterilization of medical implants. Imaging. And more.

4/5/2003 | Dark Matter and Dark Energy in Cosmology Part 1 -- Katie Freese (U-M Physics)

The new millennium has brought a revolution in cosmology. We now have extensive observational confirmation for the Big Bang, yet major questions remain. What is the dark matter that makes up most of the mass in the universe, and what is the dark energy which is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate?

4/12/2003 | Dark Matter and Dark Energy in Cosmology Part 2 -- Katie Freese (U-M Physics)

The new millennium has brought a revolution in cosmology. We now have extensive observational confirmation for the Big Bang, yet major questions remain. What is the dark matter that makes up most of the mass in the universe, and what is the dark energy which is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate?