Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series 2010
Posted in Activities, Distinguished Visiting Scholar on February 9th, 2009 by bbrysacz – Be the first to comment
“The Uncanny Physics of Superheroes”
James Kakalios
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 7:30pm
Templeton Campus Center, Council Chamber
James Kakalios, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota, will be this year’s Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Society of Fellows Distinguished Visiting Scholar.
In his lecture, Kakalios will explore the applications of physics on superheroes, the subject of a course he teaches at the University of Minnesota. This class covers everything from Isaac Newton to the transistor, using only examples from superhero comic books. Kakalios says superhero comic books get their science right more often than one might expect. Anyone who has wondered how strong you would have to be to “leap a tall building in a single bound” should attend this lecture!
About the speaker:
James Kakalios received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago in 1985. He is the Taylor Distinguished Professor in the University of Minnesota’s School of Physics and Astronomy. In 2007, in response to a request from the National Academy of Sciences, Kakalios served as the science consultant for the Warner Bros. superhero film Watchmen. In 2009 he filmed a short video on the Science of Watchmen which was viewed over 1.5 million times times in the first few months of being posted on YouTube.
His research interests include nanocrystalline and amorphous semiconductiors, pattern formation in sandpiles and fluctuation phenomena in neurological systems. He has been reading comic books longer that he has been studying physics.
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This lecture is free and open to the public.
Email questions to awalcott@lclark.edu
