Stephen Hawking to Headline Physics Festival 2007

The Department of Physics at Texas A&M University invites science enthusiasts across the Brazos Valley and beyond to participate later this month in Physics Festival 2007, an entertaining and informative scientific extravaganza for all ages featuring a hands-on science exhibition and two public lectures by renowned physicists.

Public events will kick off Saturday, April 14, with a 6 p.m. lecture, The Dark Side of the Universe, by leading astrophysicist Rocky Kolb of the University of Chicago. Tickets are not required for the free event, which will be held in Room 102 Zachry Building on the Texas A&M campus.

Stephen Hawking, the world renowned University of Cambridge physicist famous for his theories on black holes and best-selling books about the Universe, will headline two other public events on Sunday, April 15.

At 2:30 p.m., Hawking will present The Origin of the Universe in Rudder Auditorium on the Texas A&M campus. Tickets, $3 for children and Texas A&M students with IDs or $5 for all others, are available online through the Memorial Student Center Box Office or via telephone at (979) 845-1234 or toll-free at (888) 890-5667.

Following Hawking’s talk, the public is invited to get up-close and personal with science at a hands-on exhibition featuring a homemade hovercraft, a square-wheeled bicycle, working models of historic artillery and other fun experiments and displays illustrating basic scientific concepts and principles. There is no fee for the show, which will run from 3 to 7 p.m. in the Rudder Tower plaza. Middle and high school students are encouraged to participate in a related science contest to win cash prizes (online registration preferred at http://physicsfestival.tamu.edu).

All events are being held in conjunction with the 2007 Mitchell Symposium on Astronomy, Cosmology and Fundamental Physics, an annual gathering of some of the world’s foremost experts intended to advance research and exploration in related subject areas.

Hawking’s appearance at Texas A&M will mark his second in the past four years. He initially visited the campus in March 2003 to help to inaugurate the University’s George P. and Cynthia W. Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, established with an endowment from the well-known Texas businessman and his wife, both of The Woodlands.

For the latest details regarding Physics Festival 2007, including event directions and parking information, please visit http://physicsfestival.tamu.edu.

-aTm-

Contact: Shana Hutchins, 979-862-1237 or shutchins@science.tamu.edu