Physics at Carnegie Tech

“It is a terrible institution, this American cocktail party,” Professor Richard Becker said recently. “Everyone crowds into a hot, smoky room where it is impossible to listen to each other speak. There are never enough chairs. In Europe there is a chair for every guest. And here no one leaves at the end of the party. A party should have an ending.” Professor Becker does not pretend that he enjoys cocktail parties. He will, however, comment more kindly upon the lunches at the Faculty Club at the Carnegie Institute of Technology where he is completing a one year’s visiting professorship on leave of absence from Göttingen University. Here you can find him during the noon hour (or hours) with his colleagues from the physics department and there is a chair for everyone and the conversation is definitely listened to.

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