RICHARDSON, Texas (Jan. 11, 2006) – The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) will host a lecture by renowned British mathematical physicist and Oxford Emeritus Professor Sir Roger Penrose on Tuesday, Jan. 17.  Titled “Before the Big Bang: A Radical New Perspective,” the lecture will be held in the UTD Conference Center auditorium beginning at 7:30 p.m.

 

A reception will precede the lecture at 7 p.m., and a book signing will follow.  The reception, lecture and signing will be free and open to the public.

 

His appearance at UTD will be one of the first opportunities for Penrose to publicly elaborate on his new thinking about what may have occurred prior to the so-called “big bang” – a cosmic explosion that many scientists believe occurred billions of years ago, resulting in the creation of the universe.

 

Penrose is highly esteemed for his contributions to the fields of general relativity and cosmology.  His name is linked to several theories and discoveries such as the Moore-Penrose inverse, the Penrose tiles and Penrose diagrams.  He has written eight books, one of which was co-authored by UTD physics Professor Dr. Wolfgang Rindler and another by Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s leading theoretical physicists.

 

Penrose has received many accolades for his work, including the Eddington Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society and the prestigious Wolf Foundation Prize for Physics.  In 1994 he was knighted for his services to science.  Penrose was also elected Foreign Associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences, and was awarded the De Morgan Medal for his wide and original contributions to mathematical physics.

 

The lecture at UTD is sponsored by the University’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, the School of Natural Sciences, the Department of Physics and the UTD chapter of Sigma Xi, the international honor society of research scientists and engineers.

 

For additional information about Penrose’s appearance, please call UTD’s Beth Keithly at 972-883-4568.

 

About UTD

 

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls nearly 14,500 students.  The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores.  The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs.  For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s website at www.utdallas.edu.