Physicist Kaku to bring ‘mind-sizzling’ lecture to ASU


Impossibilities never stay that way for long in the face of science. For Michio Kaku, renowned theoretical physicist and author, there is no question that humanity will one day be able to overcome the barriers of time and space the way it conquered other “impossibilities.”

Kaku will discuss the turning point from fantasy to reality in the annual “Sci-fi Meets Sci-fact” lecture presented by BEYOND, the Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University. To add to the fun, an illusionist will open the evening lecture. This year’s event is slated for 7:30 p.m., Nov. 13, at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law auditorium on the ASU Tempe campus. The lecture is free and open to the public, and seating is first come, first serve. Computer Aided Real-time Translation (CART) services will be provided.

"Michio Kaku is a true star,” says Paul Davies, ASU professor and founding director of BEYOND. “He brings science alive with style and panache, and conveys breathtaking concepts with ease and simplicity. His performances are guaranteed to be mind-sizzling.”

According to Davies, the Sci-fi Meets Sci-fact lecture series is built around the question: Can it really be done?

Kaku’s two primary fields of study are trying to complete Einstein’s dream for a “theory of everything” and predicting trends for the future of science.

He is the Henry Semat Chair in Theoretical Physics at the City University of New York, and has been a professor there for more than 30 years. Kaku received his doctorate in physics at the University of California at Berkeley in 1972 and has also taught at Harvard University and Princeton University.

Kaku is the author of a number of international best-sellers including “Hyperspace” and “Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century.” His most recent book, “Physics of the Impossible,” was on the New York Times best-seller list for five weeks this past spring.

His book “Parallel Worlds,” about the latest in cosmology, was a finalist for the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction in the U.K., and also a finalist for the Aventis science book award.

Kaku has appeared on a number of radio and TV programs including “Larry King Live,” “60 Minutes” and the BBC’s “Future.” He also hosts his own national weekly radio program – Science Fantastic – which airs in 130 cities in the U.S.

His Web site – http://mkaku.org/ – reportedly registered more than 110 million page hits in the past four years.

BEYOND, the Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, is a pioneering international research center in Arizona State University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The center is specifically dedicated to confronting the big questions raised by advances in fundamental science, and facilitating new research initiatives that transcend traditional subject categories.

More information at: beyond.asu.edu or (480) 965–3240.

Ashley Lange, ashley.lange@asu.edu
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences