Webinars

Deep learning is an exciting approach to modern artificial intelligence that is based on artificial neural networks. The goal of this talk is to provide a blueprint—using tools from physics—for theoretically analyzing realistic deep neural networks. Originally aired March 2023.

Across science, many groups of people continue to be underrepresented, and representation gaps appear set to persist for a long time. For example, it is projected to take 258 years to reach gender parity in physics. What factors lead to disparities in representation? What are the challenges faced by equity-deserving groups? Why should we be motivated to effect change? What can we do? Originally aired February 2023.

Some might say none. If scientists seek to discover fundamental truths about the world, and they do so in an objective manner using well-established methods, then how could it matter who’s footing the bill? History, however, suggests otherwise. Originally aired January 2023.

Global information technology corporations are investing intensively in a race to achieve quantum technology (QT) dominance. This emerging second quantum revolution promises truly transformative advances in science, industry, economy, and society. Originally aired October 2022.

Steampunk is a genre of literature, art, and film that juxtaposes futuristic technologies with Victorian settings. This fantasy is becoming a reality at the intersection of two scientific fields: quantum computing and thermodynamics. Leveraging quantum phenomena such as entanglement, physicists are building computers that will be able to …Watch the video to learn more! Originally aired September 2022.

Advancements in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) have enabled researchers to resolve atomic structures of biochemically purified macromolecules, with a level of detail equivalent to that of x-ray crystal structures. A unique aspect of cryo-EM is the ability to use image-processing methods to sort out images of particles with heterogeneous…Watch the video to learn more! Originally aired August 2022.

Transient self-assembled structures occur frequently in complex biological systems and are involved in regulating processes such as the transport, motility, and proliferation of cells. From a coarse-grained perspective, these materials can perform these complex tasks because they operate under nonequilibrium conditions. Originally aired July 2022.

In this webinar we explore the consequences of three demons that checker the past of thermodynamics. The first demon—Loschmidt's demon—threatens our understanding of the source of time-asymmetry. If we had the power to reverse the momenta of molecules in a gas, would we see the past unwind before our eyes? If so, why don't we ever see this? Originally aired June 2022.

The elementary CuO2 plane sustaining cuprate high temperature superconductivity occurs typically at the base of a periodic array of edge-sharing CuO5 pyramids. Virtual transitions of electrons between adjacent planar Cu and O atoms, occurring at a rate t/ℏ and across the charge-transfer energy gap E, generate ‘superexchange’ spin-spin interactions…Watch the video to learn more! Originally aired May 2022.

Jay Pasachoff is the Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy at Williams College and Chair of the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group on Solar Eclipses. A veteran of 36 total solar eclipses and 75 solar eclipses of all types, he will discuss solar eclipse studies as of 2022 and beyond. Originally aired May 2022.