Public Lectures

Physics for the Inquiring Mind

KITP 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.

Image showing KITP Public Lectures happening on stage

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.

 

 

 


 

The Force of Nothing: Attraction, Repulsion, and Motion in the Quantum Void

 

Speaker: Mehran Kardar
Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Time: Reception at 5:00 PM | Talk at 6:00 PM
Location: Kohn Hall, Lagoon Rd, UC Santa Barbara, CA | Zoom Webinar
 

 

Diagram of parallel plate capacitor with blue ovals between plates and arrows labeled E, B, H.

KITP Public Lectures Archive

Event Information
Einstein's Clocks: High Theory and Lowly Technology
Speaker: Peter Galison
Date: 1999-11-10
Watch Talk
Science and the Mind
Speaker: Roger Penrose
Date: 1999-05-12
Watch Talk
Spacetime Warps and the Quantum: A Glimpse of the Future
Speaker: Kip S. Thorne
Date: 1999-02-24
Watch Talk
A New Form Of Matter: Bose-Einstein Condensation and the Atom Laser
Speaker: Wolfgang Ketterle
Date: 1998-04-01
Watch Talk
Duality, Space-Time and Quantum Mechanics
Speaker: Edward Witten
Date: 1997-11-12
Watch Talk
Taking Measure of the Universe: How Big? How Old? How Do We Know?
Speaker: Robert Kirshner
Date: 1997-11-12
Watch Talk
The Quark and the Jaguar: from Simplicity to Complexity
Speaker: Murray Gell-Mann
Date: 1997-05-04
Watch Talk
Towards a Theory of Everything
Speaker: David Gross
Date: 1997-03-05
Watch Talk
A Hubble Space Telescope Picture Gallery
Speaker: Sandra M. Faber
Date: 1996-11-20
Watch Talk
Snowflakes, Seashells, and the Origins of Complexity in Nature
Speaker: James S. Langer
Date: 1996-05-15
Watch Talk
Does God Play Dice Inside Black Holes
Speaker: Stephen William Hawking
Date: 1996-03-13
Watch Talk