Department Colloquia
Fall 2019 Schedule
All talks will be in the Physics Department Library (accessed from 3438 Ingersoll Hall) unless otherwise stated.
Check here for updates to the schedule as the semester progresses.
Thursday, September 12, 12:30 p.m. (Co-hosted by the Engineering Club)
Speaker: Ted Raphan, Department of Computer and Information Science, Brooklyn College, and Computer Science Program, CUNY Graduate Center
Title: The Physics of Machine Learning
Abstract: Although pattern recognition, data science, and artificial intelligence techniques have been studied since the 1930s under various guises, machine learning methodologies have become popular in a wide range of disciplines because of the power of machines and the access to large amounts of data. They are used to identify patterns of behavior and identify learning mechanisms used by the central nervous system. This has required the implementation of a wide range of neural nets and the development of learning paradigms that efficiently identify the weight parameters of the net. Thus empirical data science and machine learning have again become important components of science. Much of machine learning, however, has been incorporated into apps and libraries whose underlying physics and fundamental assumptions are sometimes obscured. The purpose of this talk is explain the basic physics that underlies machine learning and the deep neural net learning paradigms that implement the learning.
Thursday, October 3, 12:30 p.m.
Speakers: Anthony Tantillo, Steven Vallone, Nikesh Maharjan (Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center); Gabe Herczeg (Brown); Matt O'Dowd (Lehman College and CUNY Graduate Center)
Title: Q&A on Studying for a Master's or a Ph.D. in Physics
This event is an opportunity for undergraduates who are considering graduate study in physics to ask questions of several people, including current doctoral students and alumni who have gone on to graduate study.
Tuesday, October 22, 12:30 p.m. **in 222 Whitehead Hall** 
Speaker: Arthur I. Miller, University College London [flier (pdf)]
Title: The Artist in the Machine: The World of AI-Powered Creativity
Abstract: Today machines have already shown glimpses of creativity in art, literature and music. As AI develops, completely new forms of the arts, currently unimaginable, are bound to emerge. I will explore this brave new world, probing questions like, Will computers be creators like us and even go beyond us? Will we have to rethink concepts like 'art' and 'creativity' and, if so, how? I will discuss all this and much, much more.
Tuesday, December 17, *1 p.m.* 
Speaker: Roger Highfield, Science Museum Group, UK
Title: The Science of Christmas
Abstract: Join Roger Highfield (Science Museum Group, UK) for a tour of the science of Christmas: Can reindeer fly? Why is Rudolph's nose red? How does Santa manage to deliver presents to an estimated 842M households in a single night? What could we do to guarantee a white Christmas?
Roger Highfield is the Science Director at the Science Museum Group, which consists of five museums visited by 5.5 million people annually. Roger is also a visiting professor at the University of Oxford and University College London, a member of the Medical Research Council, and has written eight books including "The Physics of Christmas" (Back Bay Books, 1998). He was the Science Editor of The Daily Telegraph for two decades, and the Editor of New Scientist between 2008 and 2011. Roger studied chemistry at the University of Oxford and was the first person to bounce a neutron off a soap bubble.
More Information
Please direct any enquiries to Karl Sandeman.
