Wayne State University to host Vaden W. Miles Memorial Lecture: "SUSY and the Lords of the Ring: Supersymmetry Theory"

Detroit - Wayne State University's Department of Physics and Astronomy will host the 2011 Vaden W. Miles Memorial Lecture on March 3, 2011, at 3:30 p.m. in the Spencer M. Partrich Law School Auditorium. Guest speaker Sylvester J. Gates Jr., Ph.D., will present "SUSY and the Lords of the Ring: Supersymmetry Theory."

Gates is the John S. Toll Professor of Physics and director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2009, President Obama named him a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. In addition, he currently serves on the Maryland State Board of Education.

Gates is internationally known for his ability to communicate complex ideas at the forefront of theoretical physics to a general audience, for his promotion of science education, and for his groundbreaking research in supersymmetry (SUSY) and supergravity, areas closely related to string theory. He has been featured on a number of PBS television programs including "A Science Odyssey" and "Einstein's Big Idea."

Gates has made a career out of going "where no man has gone before." For the past 20 years, he has been on the leading edge of exploring and trying to explain the basic building blocks of the universe. His work in mathematics and physics has led to four notable scientific contributions and many smaller ones, including the creation of a new theory that promises to explain the ultimate nature of the universe: the superstring theory. This theory originated because the two predominant theories, Einstein's theory of relativity and the theory of quantum mechanics, explain gravity differently. Gates and other physicists have spent the last 25 years trying to discover a way to join these two theories with an explanation for their differences.

Gates holds bachelor of science degrees in mathematics and physics, and a doctor of philosophy degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed his postgraduate studies at Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology.

Gates has authored or co-authored more than 200 scientific research papers and numerous scientific articles in the areas of string theory, supersymmetry and supergravity. He authored the popular DVD lecture course "Superstring Theory: The DNA of Reality." He has won numerous prestigious awards and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society (APS), and the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP). He was the first recipient of the APS Bouchet Award and was a past president of NSBP.

The Vaden W. Miles Memorial Lecture is free, however registration is required. To register, please visit http://events.wayne.edu/2011/03/03/2011-vaden-w-miles-lecture-susy-and-the-lords-of-the-ring-guest-lecturer-pr-29739/.

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Wayne State University is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit http://www.research.wayne.edu.

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Julie O'Connor

Director, Research Communications
Phone: 313-577-8845
Email: julie.oconnor@wayne.edu