Summary
July 16, 2024 | 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM ET
Join author Claudia de Rham and the Academy’s Chief Scientific Officer Brooke Grindlinger as they delve into the hidden facets of gravity’s true nature—and de Rham’s new book, The Beauty of Falling: A Life in Pursuit of Gravity. De Rham has devoted her life to unraveling the secrets of gravity—first as a diver and pilot, and then as an astronaut candidate seeking the thrill of escaping Earth’s gravitational pull. As a physicist, she has pushed the limits of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, developing a rigorous and viable theory of “massive gravity,” in doing so completing a decades-old quest and profoundly impacting our understanding of many fundamental problems in cosmology and particle physics. De Rham unveils the profound influence of brilliant intellects, spanning from luminaries like Newton and Einstein to the contemporary minds of Stephen Hawking, Andrea Ghez, and Roger Penrose. These great thinkers guided her to the brink of understanding the intricate nature of this fundamental force, which not only shapes the cosmos but also plays a crucial role in keeping our feet firmly grounded on Earth.
About the Author
Claudia de Rham is a professor of theoretical physics at Imperial College London and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her work at the interface of gravity, cosmology, and particle physics won her the Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom in 2020. She is ranked among the most influential researchers in fundamental physics of the past decade. She is a tireless campaigner against the underrepresentation of girls in physics and frequently speaks in schools and for other organizations about diversity in the sciences.
Registration
The event is open for registration.