03/06/2020
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
THE MARCH 17 AND 19 TALKS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED IN OBSERVANCE OF POLICIES TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19.
Please see uab.ca/covid19 for details.
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Distinguished Visitor Philip Moriarty (University of Nottingham) is visiting the University of Alberta for a series of talks on condensed matter physics from March 11 to 19. He'll give talks on machine-learning, experimental techniques, science and social media, and how to explain quantum physics with heavy metal music. All events are free to attend.
Philip Moriarty is a professor of physics at the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nottingham. His research interests span a range of topical themes in nanoscience including single-atom manipulation, sub-molecular imaging and spectroscopy, self-organisation and self-assembly, and the development of machine learning strategies for automated optimization of scanning probes. He has a keen interest in outreach and public engagement, and is a member of the Sixty Symbols (https://www.youtube.com/user/sixtysymbols) team that was awarded the Institute of Physics 2016 Kelvin Prize for “innovative and effective promotion of the public understanding of physics”.
Moriarty’s first pop sci book, “When The Uncertainty Principle Goes To 11” (Ben Bella Books, 2018), on the deep and fundamental links between quantum physics and heavy metal, was shortlisted for Physics World’s Book Of The Year 2018. He blogs at https://muircheartblog.wordpress.com. Unlike his infamous namesake, Moriarty has never been particularly enamoured of the binomial theorem.
FEATURED TALKS
***Machine-Learning-Enabled Probe Microscopy: Towards Atomically Precise Fabrication***
Date: Wednesday, March 11th
Time: 3:00 – 4:00pm
Location: CCIS L1-047
Moriarty will describe work by a number of groups worldwide on embedding artificial intelligence algorithms and protocols into (sub-)atomic resolution scanning probe microscopy. The talk will include a primer on state-of-the-art SPM. Check out the following video for an overview of a number of the key themes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny-cfjhqHKE
*** [CANCELLED] Town and Gown Event – When the Uncertainty Principle Goes to 11: Or How to Explain Quantum Physics with Heavy Metal***
Date: Friday, March 13th
Time: 6:30 – 7:30pm
NOTE: This event has been cancelled In light of the recommendation by Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health to cancel large gatherings. Dr. Moriarty's talks on March 17th and 19th will go ahead as scheduled.
***[CANCELLED] Intramolecular Water Divining: Locating H2O Inside a Fullerene Cage***
Date: Tuesday, March 17th
Time: 1:00 – 2:00pm
Location: CCIS L1-047
Describing Moriarty’s synchrotron-based analysis of the H2O@C60 endohedral fullerene (where the "@" symbol represents the incarceration of the water molecule (or its deuterated counterpart, D2O) inside the carbon cage.) He has used the X-ray standing wave technique, in tandem with photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray absorption, low energy electron diffraction, and scanning probe microscopy to locate the position of the fullerene-encapsulated molecule. Moriarty will discuss whether a fullerene can be used as a nanoscopic Faraday cage, using both our experimental data and insights from density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics simulations to not only pinpoint the molecular position but to provide detailed insights into its constrained motion. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWWyAklkYqM for an overview of the experimental techniques.
*** [CANCELLED]Rules of Engagement: Guilty Confessions of a YouTube Scientist***
Date: Thursday, March 19th
Time: 2:00 – 3:00pm
Location: CCIS L1-047
Social media offers academics a wonderful opportunity to get their message “out there”, to connect with, educate and inform a broad, new online audience. And universities encourage them to do so, to actively market and disseminate their research and teaching. Moriarty and his colleagues in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nottingham have spent the last decade working with Brady Haran, journalist and video-maker, on a number of Moriarty’s popular YouTube channels, including Sixty Symbols, Numberphile, and Computerphile. These channels have collectively accrued millions of subscribers, 100s of millions of views, and a great deal of critical acclaim, including the award of the Institute of Physics' Kelvin Prize for "innovative and effective promotion of the public understanding of physics through the Sixty Symbols video project.”
But the YouTube culture and environment are not generally lauded for critical thinking, deep analysis, and keen insights (as perhaps best illustrated by this classic xkcd cartoon: https://xkcd.com/202/ ) To what extent does YouTube edutainment have a detrimental effect on science education? Moreover, in an era where expertise is too often seen as the preserve of the "elite", and therefore readily dismissed by those with an ideological axe to grind, universities should temper their enthusiasm for staff and student social media engagement with the realisation that certain publics, despite loud claims to the contrary, most definitely do not want to engage with evidence, data, and scientific arguments.
Hosted by Dr. Robert Wolkow
