Stephen Hawking Public Lecture

APRIL 16, 2013 8pm
in Beckman Auditorium

The title of Dr. Hawking's talk is "The Origin of the Universe."
Stephen Hawking is the Director of Research in the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is also the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar at Caltech. For over 45 years he has been a world leader in research on the birth of the universe, black holes, and the nature of space, time, and gravity.

Admission & Seating

This event is free, with 500 seats in Beckman Auditorium available on a first-come, first-served basis the evening of the lecture. Overflow will be accommodated by video/audio feed to Ramo Auditorium, where all seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis the evening of the lecture. In addition, there will be a video/audio feed onto the lawn in front of Beckman Auditorium with a giant outdoor screen.  Ticket disbursement may be as early as 6:45 p.m. at the Western side of the Beckman Mall (nearest the Beckman Behaviorial Biology Building). Stand in the orange "Guests without Tickets" line. Tickets will be handed out on a one-to-one basis. In other words, you and your entire party must be in line when tickets are handed out in order to gain admission into the venues. 

Parking

Parking before 5:00 p.m. on weekdays requires a temporary permit while on campus. Paid parking permits are only valid for un-named parking spaces. Please pay attention to street signs and postings. Pay stations are located in various Caltech parking lots/structures. Parking is free after 5:00 p.m., at which time you may park in any open space. There are two parking structures on Wilson Avenue, one on Holliston Avenue, and parking lots on Michigan Avenue.

Restrooms

There will be public portable restrooms and handwashing stations available on campus, behind Beckman Auditorium.

Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition Winners Concert

Sunday, April 28, 2013, 3:30 pm

The winners of the 67th annual Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition, held on Saturday, April 27 and open to the public free of charge, present a formal concert to be followed by an awards ceremony.


A reception for all will follow the presentations.

Location:  Caltech's Ramo Auditorium

Tickets:  $20.00; youth high school age and under: $10.00

Far From a Cold Case: Solving the Riddles of Ice on Planet Earth

Saturday, April 27, 2013, 2:00 pm

Even an M&M can survive the palm of your hand, but not ice. Yet despite its ephemeral appearance, ice is one of the most powerful actors to shape our world. Where can we see the tracks of glaciers? What is an "ice age," and are we in one now? And where does ice fit into a changing climate? We'll explore these questions with stunning footage and insights from the BBC documentary Earth: The Power of the Planet - Ice.


This high-definition movie will serve as the springboard for a lively discussion about the science behind the beauty and wonder of nature.

Ajay Limaye, a graduate student in the Division of Geological and Planetary Science at Caltech, will introduce the film and guide the post-screening discussion.

Recommended for ages 8 and up.

Location:  Caltech's Beckman Auditorium

Tickets:  $5.00, unreserved seating

Mars Science Laboratory: The Search for Habitable Environments

Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 8:00 pm

The Mars Science Laboratory Mission was designed to explore the habitability of Mars. This includes both modern environments, as well as ancient environments represented by the Gale crater landing site. The Curiosity rover has a designed lifetime of approximately two Earth years and drive capability of at least 20 km. Gale Crater's regional context and strong evidence for a progression through multiple potentially habitable environments, represented by a stratigraphic record of extraordinary extent, insure preservation of a rich record of the environmental history of early Mars. Initial results will be discussed.


John P. Grotzinger is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Geology at Caltech.

Event is free, no tickets or reservations required.

Location:  Caltech's Beckman Auditorium

Ballroom Dancing for Tough Guys

Saturday, April 20, 2013, 8:00 pm

Ballroom Dancing for Tough Guys, starring Lou Brock and Heather Gehring, is the incredible one-of-a-kind romantic, comedic dance show created from ballroom dance. Every minute of this glamorous, steamy, funny side of partner dancing brings its own take on love and romance.


Heather and Lou make audiences swoon one minute, laugh out loud the next and bring a tear to the eye as they float across the dreamlike canvas of the ballroom dance floor. From the grace and elegance of their signature style of the Fox Trot-inspired piece Day & Night to the sexy and stylized Somewhere Down the Crazy River these two dancers are the height of perfection.

Their comedic timing is impeccable in the incredibly wild and utterly unexpected performance of Fire, with two hugely overconfident dweebs, along with the funniest take on the perfect partner you'll ever be lucky enough to laugh at, in Only You.

Location:  Caltech's Beckman Auditorium

Tickets:  $26.00, $21.00 and $16.00; $10.00 youth; senior rush tickets may be purchased 30 minutes before the performance for $15.00 (subject to availability)

Kavafian-Schub-Shifrin Trio

Sunday, April 7, 2013, 3:30 pm

Ani Kavafian, Andre-Michel Schub and David Shifrin, each an acclaimed soloist and member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, have been friends for 25 years. Tally their appearances, and they have appeared with virtually every major orchestra in the world and in recital at major concert halls and festivals from Carnegie Hall to Wolf Trap to Ravinia. When they eprform together, they have an undeniable chemistry, a special kind of musical magic - not only for audiences, but for themselves. "The spontaneity, the excitement and the fun we have playing together is beyond what we ever anticipated," they reveal


Program:

Milhaud - Suite for Violin, Clarinet and Piano, Op. 157b

Saint-Saens - Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75

Poulenc - Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, FP 184

Stravinsky - Suite from L'Histoire du Soldat


Location:  Caltech's Beckman Auditorium

Tickets:  $45.00, $38.00, $31.00 and $24.00; youth high school age and under: $15.00

Quantum Entanglement and Quantum Computing

Wednesday, April 3, 2013, 8:00 pm


The quantum laws governing atoms and other tiny objects seem to defy common sense, and information encoded in quantum systems has weird properties that baffle our feeble human minds. Preskill will explain why he loves quantum entanglement, the elusive feature making quantum information fundamentally different from information in the macroscopic world. By exploiting quantum entanglement, quantum computers should be able to solve otherwise intractable problems, with far-reaching applications to cryptology, materials science and medicine. Preskill is less weird than a quantum computer, and easier to understand.


John Preskill is the Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech.

Event is Free, no tickets or reservations required.
Location:  Caltech's Beckman Auditorium.