Ask college physics students to describe how they feel while poring through their textbooks. “Inspired” is sure to land near the bottom of the list. Ask the same question to those students after they’ve sat at the feet of a Nobel laureate, absorbing his lecture on the future of modern science: “inspired” will be the only answer you get. Over 1,000 BYU students had this opportunity last month when Nobel Prize winner Kip Thorne, a Utah native, came for a campus visit to empower, motivate, and inspire.
Dr. Thorne conducted a Q&A session followed by an hour-long lecture about his work on gravitational-wave astronomy and his outlook on the future of science. The Joseph Smith Building (JSB) auditorium was so packed that the lobby was overflowing with eager students who couldn’t attend the event. Many more watched the video via a live stream in the Eyring Science Center.
In his talk, Dr. Thorne spoke substantially on the discoveries made from his lifelong project—the development and construction of the first LIGO detectors in Livingston, Louisiana and Hanford, Washington—and the evidence it provided for Einstein’s theory of general relativity. More than a thousand brilliant minds collaborated on this massive project that uses laser interferometry to measure tiny ripples in space. Nearly a decade ago, LIGO successfully measured the first gravitational wave from two colliding black holes. Since then, they have measured hundreds more, opening a new subfield known as gravitational-wave astronomy. Dr. Thorne emphasized the next 30 years of related and additional projects, optimistic to see further breakthroughs in this field especially regarding new discoveries around the beginning of the universe.
One faculty member, Dr. Eric Hirschmann, said that Dr. Thorne was more than just a manager. He was a leader and a powerful communicator who “presented key ideas in an understandable way,” catering to the variety of backgrounds in his audience. This allowed him to be a “key shepherd” for the development of LIGO.
Another faculty member, Dr. Robert Davis, admired Dr. Thorne’s humility in his accomplishments. He is purpose-centered and people-focused. He gives credit to others, claiming that all the other scientists should have shared the Nobel Prize with him. This speaks volumes to who Dr. Thorne is as more than just a world-renowned physicist.
Dr. Thorne’s lecture sparked something inside those students who had the privilege of hearing from him, igniting a sense of wonder and discovery of physics.
Of note, Dr. Thorne’s childhood friend, Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, introduced him before his talk in the JSB. Additionally, Elder Gerrit W. Gong (also of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) attended the lecture as well.
Student Authors: Isaac Willden, Joshua Mills, Marcus Perkins, William Lyons
Edited by: Brian Anderson
