Wednesday November 18, 2015 was an eventful day for the department of Physics.  We welcomed world renowned physicist, Kip Thorne, to campus for an afternoon of open forum meetings culminating in the 53rd Annual Smith Lecture.  A record crowd filled 131 Hitchcock and many were turned away as the room was filled to capacity.  The audience ranged in age from elementary and high school students to undergraduate and graduate students, physics faculty and staff and lovers of science from the university community and central Ohio at large. No one was disappointed.  Kip presented a talk entitled "Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Interstellar," for the first time in preparation for presenting this same talk in Berlin on November 25, 2015 at the Centennial celebration of Albert Einstein's presentation of his paper on General Relativity!  Clips from the film and stories about his involvement in the story line and scientific advising on this film kept the audience spellbound.  The meat of the talk involved both black holes and gravitational waves and was presented in a manner that allowed even the novice science student the ability to follow along.

Professor Thorne graciously signed copies of his books and stood for pictures with members of the audience until the long line of fans each had their turn.

Watch this website and Dept. of Physics social media for upcoming events.  The 54th Smith Lecture will be held in Autumn 2016.