The Legacy of the Fish Physicist

"In 1905, Albert Einstein* published three papers so important to science that physicists call it the annus mirabilis, or 'miracle year.' One hundred years later, the United Nations declared 2005 the World Year of Physics in order to commemorate Einstein's creative outburst. Conferences, meetings and educational workshops are taking place around the world to review what Einstein taught--and to explore the questions he left behind.

"NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is hosting one of these events. The Physics for the Third Millennium: II conference will be held at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama, April 5-7, 2005. Sponsors include NASA, the US Army [oh shite --Ed.], the American Physical Society, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

"Although it takes place in 'The Rocket City,' the conference is not just space-oriented. "We're going to talk about the most important, open questions in all of physics," explained conference chairman Ron Koczor of the MSFC Science and Technology Directorate.

"Lectures will explore such cutting-edge topics as the nature of dark energy, antimatter-matter interactions, quantum mechanics and the formation of black holes. Among the speakers are two Nobel Laureates: Leon Lederman, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on neutrinos, and Riccardo Giacconi, whose contributions in astrophysics led to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources. Physicist Lawrence Krauss, who penned 'The Physics of Star Trek,' will be the Banquet speaker and talk about 'Einstein's Biggest Blunder, A Cosmic Mystery Story.'

"Cutting-edge physics. Nobel laureates. This conference must be for select professionals, right?

"'Wrong,' said Koczor. 'The conference is open to everyone who is interested in science and physics. The talks will be appropriate for lay people.'"


* Einstein was a Pisces!
March 14, 1879, 11:30 a.m., in Ulm, Germany.