For Brown University physics professor, author and jazz musician Stephon Alexander, creativity, practice and the mistakes that inevitably come with them, are just part of the process. 

“The way I teach my students how to become better physicists is the same way my jazz teachers trained me,” said Alexander at the West Campus House System Sevin Lecture on Mar. 5 at Hans Bethe House. “Even if they just go up there and make something up, the goal is to get them comfortable enough to go to the blackboard and make a mistake. The point is to make the mistake.” 

Created in 2006 in honor of Professor Milton Konvitz and made possible by the generosity of Irik Sevin ’69, the Sevin Fellowship brings a distinguished figure in American public life to West Campus to engage and share insights with current residents.  

Titled “The Jazz of Physics: Improvisation as Research,” and moderated by Steven Strogatz, the Susan and Barton Winokur Distinguished Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Mathematics, this year’s Sevin lecture explored the parallels between the improvisational nature of jazz performance and the process of scientific discovery. Alexander also touched on a range of topics, including the role of creativity in the sciences, his inspirations and challenges, and the importance of exploring new ideas. 

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