“Special Lecture by a Great Scholar with a Nobel Prize” Held with Professor Gerardus 't Hooft
- 작성처
- Date2023.07.05
- 16123
“Special Lecture by a Great Scholar with a Nobel Prize” Held with Professor Gerardus 't Hooft
Ewha Womans University, the leader in fostering female talent in next-generation science fields, invited Professor Gerardus 't Hooft, the co-winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics, and held a “Special Lecture by a Great Scholar with a Nobel Prize.” The lecture event took place both face-to-face and remotely through the Research Cooperation Building Jupiter Seminar Room on June 30. Undergraduate and graduate students from around 20 domestic and overseas universities joined Ewha students at the event and listened attentively to the message of one of the world’s most prominent scholars of quantum field theory.
The “Special Lecture by a Great Scholar with a Nobel Prize” was jointly hosted by the Department of Physics, Research Institute for Basic Sciences, and Autonomous Priority Research Institute at Ewha and the Center for Quantum Nanoscience at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS). It was intended to provide Ewha students with opportunities for learning across a wide range of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
Prior to the lecture, Professor Gerardus 't Hooft reflected from the podium on female scientists who made great achievements in physics, such as Marie Curie and Emmy Noether, and conveyed to Ewha students that he hoped more women would enter science fields. In his special lecture on the theme of “Beyond the Textbooks: Where did the quantum come from?”, Professor Hooft introduced the historical background and meaning of the development of quantum mechanics. Towards the end of the lecture he turned to his new view on quantum theory. Professor Hooft argued that cell automation is a potential concept that provides a simpler theory that can explain the microscopic world, including elementary particles. In particular, he suggested a methodology for interpreting quantum mechanics from the classical point of view using cell automation and described how this interpretation would be compatible with Bell’s theorem. Professor Hooft remarked, “Historically, several problems in science were concluded with unexpected answers. I am continuously finding more astonishing and simpler theories to explain quantum mechanics and elementary particles.” After the lecture, a Q&A session was provided for students. “Good questions from when I studied physics 50 years ago might not be good ones anymore,” said Hooft in his closing remarks. “Pose questions without answers, questions only you can ask, and attempt to solve them.”
Earlier in the day of the special lecture, President Eum Mee Kim spoke with Professor Hooft. Ewha has established a development strategy under its “Ewha Vision 2030+” that includes the theme “A Creative and Innovative Platform Leading to a Sustainable Society.” The school is particularly concentrating on building a creative research ecosystem and strengthening its status as a research-intensive university. During their conversation, President Kim discussed with Professor Hooft the importance of basic science, the roles of a research-intensive university, and fostering female scientists in the STEM fields.