String Theory: Past, Present, and Future

PASADENA, Calif. -- Although it fell in and out of favor in the early years, string theory--a unique mathematical approach that might explain why our physical world is the way it is--is today one of the hottest areas in theoretical physics. It is also the leading candidate for the elusive "unified field theory" that physicists seek.

John Schwarz, the Harold Brown Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology, has been one of the leading developers of string theory for 35 years. On Wednesday, February 11, Schwarz's talk, "String Theory: Past, Present, and Future," will present a historical overview of the subject and discuss, in lay terms, some of the problems that remain to be overcome. Schwarz's talk is part of the 2003--04 Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series at Caltech.

String theory connects the microscopic quantum world of elementary particles to the macroscopic world of gravity and geometry. Physicists believe that it may have the potential to achieve two very ambitious goals: to give a complete mathematical description of the microscopic laws that determine the properties of elementary particles and the forces that act on them, and to explain the origin and evolution of the universe. As Schwarz will discuss, much has been achieved, but string theory is still a work in progress.

His lecture will take place at 8 p.m. in Beckman Auditorium, near Michigan Avenue south of Del Mar Boulevard, on Caltech's campus in Pasadena. Seating is available on a free, no-ticket-required, first-come, first-served basis. Caltech has offered the Watson Lecture Series since 1922, when it was conceived by the late Caltech physicist Earnest Watson as a way to explain science to the local community.