Life, the Universe and Everything -- explained

February 26, 2010 2:26 PM

The Perimeter Institute is a center for theoretical physics in Waterloo, Canada. Among other outreach activities, they host a series of public lectures on a variety of physics related topics.

Topics include:

What Banged? (what caused the Big Bang?)

Physics in 2010 (an overview of what we're expecting to learn from the LHC and other experiments this year)

The Quest for Supersymmetry

And many, many more. I've watched quiet a few of them, and my head is spinning right now.

previously, but it's been 4 years, and there are a LOT more lectures available now.

posted by empath (11 comments total)

I'm ashamed to admit I live a block away from this place and I have never attended one of these lectures. I do enjoy their concerts though.

It was built next to Waterloo Park on the site of the Memorial Arena, which was itself partially torn down in '87 and it's front facade temporarily grafted onto one of those giant white inflatable grubs.
posted by CynicalKnight at 2:51 PM on February 26, 2010

Perimeter also hosted the Quantum to Cosmos festival, and is home to the inimitable Lee Smolin.
posted by greatgefilte at 3:00 PM on February 26, 2010

*obligatory mention of Mike Lazaridis of Blackberry fame*
posted by lukemeister at 3:07 PM on February 26, 2010

Yeah, if you own a Blackberry, you helped bankroll theoretical physics research. It is a pretty weird looking building seen up close.
posted by GuyZero at 3:15 PM on February 26, 2010

Argh - another fascinating, wonderful way to use up any remaining spare time! Thanks, empath!
posted by Kevin Street at 3:22 PM on February 26, 2010

The Perimeter Institute

That name has just the right shade of generic and meaning to be responsible for the End Of The World.
posted by The Whelk at 4:10 PM on February 26, 2010

Also, Neil Turok of the Perimeter Institute won a TED Prize for coming up and implementing AIMS - the African Institute for Mathematics Sciences. Of note is the Next Einstein initiative, a project that combines an audacious goal in the context of development.
posted by storybored at 4:23 PM on February 26, 2010 [1 favorite]

The Whelk: the Nanaimo bar is a lie!
posted by kmz at 4:37 PM on February 26, 2010

No RSS feed??
posted by DU at 4:58 PM on February 26, 2010

My first post to the blue was a Perimeter Institute lecture on tilings and quasicrystals.

Apart from the science and the building, the PI logo is awesome in combining "PI" and the Greek "Π".
posted by parudox at 5:15 PM on February 26, 2010

The Perimeter Institute

That name has just the right shade of generic and meaning to be responsible for the End Of The World.


Also just the right amount of corporate tie-in. (Get it? Perimeter? RIM? Mike Lazaridis?)
posted by greatgefilte at 8:47 PM on February 26, 2010