William C. Ferguson and Compton Centennial Lecture with Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek on Photons and Vision

The particle nature of light, revealed 100 years ago by Compton's experiments conducted at Washington University, is crucial for understanding the most basic facts about visual perception.  I will explain why, discuss differences in visual perception across the animal world and among humans, and describe how these insights suggest possible technologies for expanding visual perception.

 

Frank Wilczek is a theoretical physicist, mathematician and a Nobel laureate. He is the Herman Feshbach Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wilczek, along with David Gross and H. David Politzer, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004 "for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction." Frank is the author of several popular books on science, and is renowned for his ability to communicate science to the public. He is one of the most distinguished living physicists.

This lecture is being presented as part of the Compton Centennial Celebration honoring 100 years since Arthur Holly Compton discovered the dual particle/wave nature of X-rays and is sponsored by the William C. Ferguson fund.