Public Lectures

Physics for the Inquiring Mind

Public LecturesKITP Public Lectures connect you with people and research that is transforming our understanding of the universe. This popular series of 3-4 public lectures each year takes advantage of the presence of the many distinguished scientists who visit KITP to collaborate on the most fascinating and challenging questions in their fields. 

Speakers have included, among others, Conny Aerts, Peter Galison, Asimina Arvanitaki, Murray Gell-Mann, John Grunsfeld, Stephen Hawking, Robert Kirshner, Nathan Lewis, and M. Cristina Marchetti. Talks have ranged from how stars ring, projects at the large hadron collider (LHC), how the brain works, challenges for global energy, the potential in the human genome, and black holes.

Friends of KITP receive priority seat reservations, and an informal reception follows each lecture.


KITP Public Lectures Archive

Event Informationsort descending
The Universe in Collisions
Speaker: Maria Spiropulu
Date: 2009-05-13
The World's Numerical Recipe
Speaker: Frank Wilczek
Date: 2002-04-03
This Particular Elegant Universe: How Do We Measure It?
Speaker: Melissa Eve Bronwen Franklin
Date: 2001-01-31
Time, Einstein and the Coolest Stuff in the Universe
Speaker: William Phillips
Date: 2010-10-13
Topology, Physics, and Complexity: The birthing of the quantum computer
Speaker: Michael H. Freedman
Date: 2008-11-05
Towards a Theory of Everything
Speaker: David Gross
Date: 1997-03-05
Weight, Weight... Do Tell Me!: QCD and the Origin of Mass
Speaker: Andreas Kronfeld
Date: 2015-09-23
Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life
Speaker: Samuel S.-h. Wang
Date: 2008-04-16
Why Face Masks Work
Speaker: Eberhard Bodenschatz
Date: 2022-10-19
Worshipped Today, Scorned Tomorrow…: Albert Einstein and the Perils of Public Engagement
Speaker: Diana Kormos Buchwald
Date: 2012-03-14