Randall

The latest developments in physics have the potential to radically revise our understanding of the world. But how should we decide which scientific questions to study? And how will the answers to those questions -- like why 95 percent of the universe is composed of dark energy and dark matter -- change how we view reality?

Lisa Randall, professor of science at Harvard University, explores such questions as this year's Hans Bethe lecturer. She will deliver a free public talk, "Knocking on Heaven's Door," the name of her latest book, Tuesday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Cornell's Schwartz Auditorium, Rockefeller Hall. A book signing will follow on the fourth floor of the Physical Sciences Building, with copies of Randall's two books available for purchase.

Other events during Randall's Cornell visit include the Physics Colloquium "Particle Physics Today," at 4 p.m., April 30 in Schwartz Auditorium, and a seminar, "Light Stops and Compositeness," Wednesday, May 2, at 2 p.m. in 401 Physical Sciences Building.

Randall's research focuses on physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics, including extra spatial dimensions and supersymmetry, and on cosmological inflation and dark matter. She also explores ways to experimentally test and verify these ideas, a topic in her latest book.

Randall is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the American Physical Society, and has received numerous awards and honors. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Esquire, The Economist and Scientific American; she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

The Bethe Lectures, established by the Department of Physics and the College of Arts and Sciences, honor Hans A. Bethe, Cornell professor of physics from 1936 until his death in 2005. Bethe won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1967 for his description of the nuclear processes that power the sun.

Linda B. Glaser is staff writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.