Stephon Alexander Explores the Link between Music and the Structure of the Universe
Explore the connections between jazz music and physics through NSM’s Culture & Science Series.
Special Lecture:
The Jazz of Physics: The Link between Music and the Structure of the Universe
Physicist and musician Stephon Alexander has straddled the worlds of theoretical physics and jazz music over the last two decades.
In his talk, Alexander revisits the interconnection between music and the evolution of astrophysics and the laws of motion. He explores new ways music, in particular jazz, mirrors modern physics, such as quantum mechanics, general relativity, and the physics of the early universe.
He will also discuss ways innovations in physics have been and can be inspired from “improvisational logic” exemplified in jazz performance and practice.
Guest Speaker: Stephon Alexander, Ph.D., Brown University, Professor of Physics
Date: Thursday, April 19
Time: 7 – 8 pm
Location: University of Houston, 3517 Cullen Blvd, Science Engineering Classroom Building (SEC), Room 100 (map)
Parking: Available in the visitor's section of the Stadium Parking Garage, located on Holman Street, near the corner of Cullen Blvd and Holman Street. The parking fee after 4 pm is $5. The garage is across Cullen Blvd from the meeting location.
RSVP via Eventbrite: https://jazzofphysics.eventbrite.com
About Stephon Alexander
A professor of physics at Brown University, Alexander works on the connection between the smallest and largest entities in the universe pushing Einstein’s theory of curved space-time to extremes, beyond the big bang with sub atomic phenomena. He is a specialist in the field of string cosmology, where the physics of superstrings are applied to address longstanding questions in cosmology.
In 2001, he co-invented the model of inflation based on higher dimensional hypersurfaces in string theory called D-Branes. In such models, the early universe emerged from the destruction of a higher dimensional D-brane which ignites a period of rapid expansion of space often referred to as cosmic inflation.
Prior to joining Brown University, his previous appointments were at Stanford University, Imperial College, Penn State, Dartmouth College and Haverford College.