Brown University Department of Physics

The Department of Physics Presents: “Physics and Our World” featuring Thorlabs

Time: 10:00am EDT. Repeats daily (to May 1)

Sponsor: Department of Physics

Location: Engineering Research Center
Room: Hazeltine Commons

The three-day event includes hands-on solar observation, a musical performance, a physics poster session, workshops by the Thorlabs Photonics Workshop Mobile lab, lectures, refreshments provided by and .physics, and a roundtable discussion.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Wednesday, 4/29:
i. 10:00 AM to 4 PM in the ERC: Thorlabs Photonics Physics Workshop Open to the Public.
ii. 1 – 4 PM: Solar observation! Talk to an astronomer! Department of Physics staff members Bob Horton, Manager of Ladd Observatory, and Mahmoud Hallak, Instructional Laboratory Specialist and astronomer, will be on hand with their sun spotters to allow you to (safely) view the sun! (Open to the public).
iii. 12 – 1:30 pm: Physics Outreach. Refreshments provided by Women in Physics.
iv. 12 – 1:30 and 3 to 4 PM: Department of Physics Demo Show

Thursday, 4/30:
i. 10 AM – 4:30 PM: Brown Community Thorlabs Photonics Physics Workshop (prior sign-up required).
ii. 12 – 1:30 PM: Demo Show
iii. 1 – 3 PM: Solar observation! Talk to an astronomer! Bob Horton, Manager of Ladd Observatory, and Mahmoud Hallak, Instructional Laboratory Specialist and astronomer, will be on hand with their sun spotters to allow you to (safely) view the sun! (Open to the public).
iv. 3:30 to 5 in the ERC: Department of Physics Poster session.

Friday, 5/1:
i. 9 AM – noon: Brown Community Thorlabs Photonics Physics Workshop (prior sign-up required).
ii. 1 – 2 PM: Solar observation! Talk to an astronomer! Department of Physics staff members Bob Horton, Manager of Ladd Observatory, and Mahmoud Hallak, Instructional Laboratory Specialist and astronomer, will be on hand with their sun spotters to allow you to (safely) view the sun! (Open to the public).
iii. Main Event: 2 – 5 PM Musical performance by Professor Stephon Alexander (Dept. of Physics), followed by lectures and a round table discussion. Refreshments served.

The Brown Center for Theoretical Physics and Innovation's Leon Cooper Lecture Series featuring Jaron Lanier was a great success. Jaron's lecture was standing room only. Read more at News from Brown.

In visit to Brown, Jaron Lanier says people are thinking about AI all wrong Artificial intelligence has the potential to help to make new scientific discoveries, but only if people remember that the technology is composed of purely human insight and innovation, the celebrated futurist said.

https://www.spacewar.com/reports/Brown_University_Physicists_Propose_Topology_of_Space_Time_as_Solution_to_Cosmological_Constant_Puzzle_999.html

Stephon Alexander

Brown University Physicists Propose Topology of Space-Time as Solution to Cosmological Constant Puzzle Paris, France (SPX) Apr 23, 2026 - Researchers at Brown University have proposed a new answer to one of the most enduring and confounding problems in modern physics - why the observed value of the cosmological constant is so vastly s

A full house at the Brown Center for Theoretical Physics and Innovation’s annual Leon Cooper Lecture Series seminar featuring Jaron Lanier here in the ERC!

Images: Valerie DeLaCamára/Brown University

Stephon Alexander

“The belief in AI as an alien angel obscures human collaboration.”
- Jaron Lanier

Tonight, the Brown Center for Theoretical Physics & Innovation (BCTPI) presented the Leon Cooper Seminar Series, featuring Jaron Lanier. The event, held in a filled-to-capacity Hazeltine Commons at the Engineering Research Center, opened with introductions by Physics Department Chair and Professor Vesna Mitrović and Dean of the Faculty and Professor Jim Russell, along with remarks from BCTPI Director and Professor Stephon Alexander. The lecture was followed by a musical performance featuring Lanier, Jesús Andújar, Ashish Vyas, and Alexander.

Title: How does theory need to change because of AI?

Jaron Lanier is currently the Prime Unifying Scientist at Microsoft. He is a computer scientist, writer, musician, and artist. He is sometimes described as the conscience of Silicon Valley. As a computer scientist, he is probably best known for his work initiating the field of Virtual Reality, a term he coined. In the 1980s, he and collaborators founded the first VR startup, manufacturing VR headsets for the first time, and creating the first VR apps in areas like surgical simulation and vehicle prototyping. In the 1990s, he was chief scientist for Internet2 (the academic consortium charged with ensuring the internet would scale) and then the first company to perform AI face processing, such as changing identities or adding ornaments. He is currently the Prime Unifying Scientist at Microsoft, where he works on everything from computational physics to the future of manufacturing. The IEEE awarded him a lifetime achievement award. Wired Magazine named him one of the 25 most influential figures in tech of the previous 25 years, and he has been on the Time Magazine 100 most influential people list.

Images: Valerie DeLaCámara/Brown University
Stephon Alexander

The Brown Center for Theoretical Physics & Innovation (BCTPI) Leon Cooper Seminar Series presents Jaron Lanier, visionary technologist and “godfather of VR.”

A pioneering force behind virtual reality and a singular voice at the intersection of technology, science, music, and philosophy, Lanier brings decades of work shaping AI, internet architecture, and digital culture, challenging how we think about technology and humanity. Working across this spectrum, Lanier offers a deeply interdisciplinary lens on the evolving relationship between humans and technology.

Wired Magazine’s 25 most influential figures in tech of the previous 25 years.
Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people list.

Special Musical Performance: Jaron Lanier (flute), Stephon Alexander (tenor saxophone), Thievery Corporation alum Hash (bass), and Jesús Ayundar (congas) all partnering with the world-class Richard Snyder for a once-in-a-lifetime musical performance.

Join us as scientific innovation and artistic vision blow your mind right here in the ERC.

📅 April 23
🕔 5:00 PM EDT
📍 Engineering Research Center, Hazeltine Commons

Talk Title: How does theory need to change because of AI?

Abstract: Theory has long favored reductionism—capturing phenomena with compact equations. Yet fields like medicine, economics, geology, and neuroscience have advanced by rigorously managing irreducible complexity. While we once expected them to become more reductive, computer science is moving the other way: from simplicity toward complexity, with AI models growing ever larger and more powerful. This shift suggests science itself may move beyond strict reductionism, requiring clearer foundations for a partially post-reductive era.
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Jaron Lanier is currently the Prime Unifying Scientist at Microsoft. He is a computer scientist, writer, musician, and artist. He is sometimes described as the conscience of Silicon Valley.