Duncanson Lecture: Come with Me Inside a Black Hole
30 January 2025, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm EST
The Faculty of Arts & Humanities is honoured to host Carlo Rovelli for the 2025 Robert and Patricia Duncanson Lecture, held on January 30, 2025. This hybrid event can be attended in person at Conron Hall or online via Zoom. Each registrant will receive the Zoom link as part of the registration email. REGISTER HERE!
In “Come with Me Inside a Black Hole,” Rovelli explores white holes, black holes, and what we do when we do science. A New York Times bestselling author, Carlo Rovelli will guide attendees on a trip towards and into a black hole, illustrating what we know and what we do not know about these strange objects. He will show how we might then get out of a black hole, via a white hole, assuming the theory on which he works, Loop Quantum Gravity, is correct. This trip will illustrate what it is to do science, using imagination, visualization, and creativity, besides ‘cold’ math and logic.
About the Speaker:
Carlo Rovelli is a theoretical physicist, known for his work on quantum gravity and the nature of time. Among his recognitions are the 1996 Xanthopoulos Award and the 2024 Lewis Thomas Prize. He is affiliated to the University of Aix-Marseille, the philosophy department and the Rotman Institute of the Western University, the Perimeter Institute and the Santa Fe Institute for Complexity. He is member of the Institute Universitaire de France, honorary professor of the Beijing Normal University, Honoris Causa Laureate of the Universidad de San Martin, Buenos Aires, member of the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences. He promoted the Peace Dividend Initiative, involving 60 Nobel Laureates in asking for a worldwide collaborative military expenses reduction. He has written global best sellers translated in more than 40 languages. He has been included in the 2019 list of the 100 most influential “Global Thinkers” by Foreign Policy magazine and in the 2021 list of The World’s 50 Top Thinkers by Prospect magazine.
Following Carlo Rovelli’s lecture, a reception will be held in the rooms adjoining Conron Hall.
Program
4:30 p.m. – Guests arrive for in person lecture
5:00 to 6:00 p.m. – Lecture and live stream
6:00 to 7:00 p.m. – Reception
All registrants will receive the Zoom link; during the registration process you will be asked if you are attending in person (which includes the reception) or online. Should your plans to attend in person change due to illness or weather, the Zoom option will be available.
Advance registration is appreciated by January 27, 2025. The lecture will begin promptly at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
Getting to Campus
Please allow sufficient time to navigate campus. The campus is well-served by numerous bus routes, bike parking, and well-maintained paths and sidewalks. Learn more about Sustainable Transportation – Parking & Visitor Services – Western University (uwo.ca). The South Valley Lot, Middlesex Lot and The Springett Lots become complimentary with their gates raised at 4:00pm. Paid parking is available at the Talbot Lot as well.
Please contact Western Alumni if you require information in an alternate format or have other accessibility needs.