Aspen Center for Physics

In science, we’re taught to minimize fluctuations. Prof. Ariel Amir is here to tell us why we should listen to them instead.

From the movement of atoms to the mutations of bacteria, learn how the "Problem of the Random Walk" changed science forever.

Talk Title: How Small Fluctuations Reveal Big Scientific Ideas
Speaker: Ariel Amir, Weizmann Institute

The Universe’s biggest galaxies weren’t supposed to grow up this fast.For decades, astronomers believed massive galaxies formed slowly over billions of years. But thanks to the groundbreaking observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, we’re seeing something astonishing: Fully formed giant galaxies less than 400–500 million years after the Big Bang.
Far more of them than our best models predicted.
And many had already stopped forming stars. They didn’t just form early.... they lived fast and died young.How did the early Universe build so many cosmic giants so quickly? And why did they shut down star formation so soon?

Join us for the next talk in the Nick & Maggie DeWolf Foundations Winter Lecture Series, featuring Rachel Bezanson of JWST UNCOVER. She’ll share how her team is hunting these cosmic overachievers — and what their existence means for our understanding of galaxy formation and cosmic evolution.

A hundred years ago, scientists didn’t even know what atoms were made of. Their quest to understand why atoms emit only specific colors of light led to the birth of quantum mechanics and ultimately to technologies we now take for granted: lasers, modern electronics, GPS, and more.

Now, a century later, we can cool, trap, and control individual atoms in the lab. We’ve built quantum atomic clocks so precise they wouldn’t lose a fraction of a second over the entire age of the universe. Lift one by just a few millimeters, and Earth’s gravity measurably changes its ticking.

But the biggest mystery remains: most of the universe is made of something we can’t see. Dark matter and dark energy dominate the cosmos and we still don’t know what they are.

Join us for this fascinating lecture exploring how quantum clocks are becoming powerful new tools to probe gravity, test fundamental physics, and search for the invisible universe.

From Einstein to today’s frontiers of theoretical physics In 1915, Albert Einstein reshaped our understanding of gravity, space, and time with general relativity. More than a century later, symmetry remains a guiding principle in the quest for a quantum theory of gravity.

Join us for a talk exploring the evolving story of symmetry in physics - from Einstein’s original insights to today’s breakthroughs in generalized and categorical symmetries—and how these ideas are leading to concrete predictions about our universe.

🔍 Featuring insights from cutting-edge research, including the Simons Collaboration on Global Categorical Symmetries and the Swampland Program.

Standing room only for last night’s lecture on How Artificial Intelligence Is and Isn’t Revolutionizing Science. The talk explored how AI is accelerating discovery, raising new philosophical questions about rigor, causality, and interpretability, and reshaping how scientists generate and test ideas… while emphasizing that these advances aren’t driven by AI alone.

Watch it on our YouTube chennel. Link in comments.

Join us for “Training Sand To Think: Artificial General Intelligence and the Future of Science,” a fascinating exploration of how humanity has transformed sand into silicon, silicon into neural networks, and neural networks into powerful AI systems that can reason, solve complex problems, and help advance science.

This talk reviews recent breakthroughs in training AI to do science and reasoning, and speculates on what these trends could mean for the future of physics.

🗣️ The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion featuring leading AI experts, including Adam Brown (Google DeepMind), offering diverse perspectives on the opportunities and challenges shaping AI today.

📅 January 14
⏰ 5:30–7:00 PM
📍 Paepcke Auditorium
📍 1000 N 3rd Street, Aspen, CO

🎟️ Free and open to the public

ForPhysics

➡️ Winter lecture Spotlight: Following the Neutrino Into Physics’ Strangest Realms

We are kicking off our Winter 2026 Lecture Series with an exciting journey into the future of astrophysics one where we explore the universe, not just with light, but with neutrinos and gravitational waves. Welcome to the age of multimessenger astronomy.

Join us for a fascinating talk that traces the story of the neutrino, from its first inklings a century ago to its central role at the forefront of astronomy and physics.

Along the way, we’ll dive into mind-bending quantum mechanics, the most extreme events in the universe, and the monumental facilities are built to detect these elusive messengers!

A compelling way to launch The Nick and Maggie DeWolfe Foundation Winter 2026 series.

We hope you’ll join us! 

We’re excited to share the full lineup for the Nick and Maggie DeWolf Foundation Winter Lecture Series!

Join us on select Wednesdays from January 7 through April 1 for an inspiring season of talks. We’re looking forward to a fabulous series and can’t wait to welcome our community.

See the full lineup below — we hope to see you there!

RSVP today. Link in comments!

Erica Carlson’s new Aspen Daily News piece for December’s On Physics article, “The sacred Terrain of the Natural World,” is a stunning reminder of why Aspen’s mountains (and the Aspen Center for Physics!) inspire so much more than scientific thought.

She writes about learning to “saunter” - to move through nature as a sacred terrain - and draws profound parallels between that reverence and the lives of physicists whose faith and curiosity shaped modern science: Maxwell, Pascal, Lemaître, and many others.

A wonderful reflection on how the natural world feeds both discovery and the soul.

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Photo credit: Andy Konieczny / Adobe Stock

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