DISTINGUISHED SCIENTIST LECTURE SERIES BRINGS NOBEL LAUREATE PHYSICIST RUSSELL A. HULSE TO BARD COLLEGE.

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.-Russell A. Hulse, corecipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize in physics, is the first speaker in this year's Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series at Bard College. Hulse will discuss "An Astronomical Adventure: The Discovery of the Binary Pulsar" on Saturday, March 6, at 3:00 p.m. in Olin Hall. The lecture is open to the public without charge.

Dr. Hulse shared the Nobel Prize with his dissertation adviser, Dr. Joseph Taylor, for the discovery of the binary pulsar in 1974. The first pulsar, the remnant of a catastrophic explosion at the end of a star's life, was discovered in 1967. Hulse was conducting a survey of the sky at the observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, for his doctoral dissertation when he discovered the first binary pulsar, a radio pulsar discovered to be orbiting another object. The binary pulsar has since then been studied intensely by astronomers, providing some of the most stringent and important tests of Einstein's general theory of relativity.

"Among the many things we hope for in our lives are an opportunity for adventure and personal discoveries that lead to a deeper knowledge of the fascinating world around us," says Hulse. "For me, this meant an interest in science from an early age, an interest that eventually lead to the opportunity to make a rather special discovery and receive a Nobel Prize. But my recollection of the discovery that led to the Nobel Prize is still very much that of a personal adventure," he continues, "one fraught with anxiety and frustration as well as triumph and understanding. This is the story of that adventure and the discovery that resulted from it."

Russell A. Hulse is a research physicist the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (Princeton University). He is currently involved in a project called Contact Sciences, which will create, disseminate, and support small-scale traveling science exhibits for public libraries. "Science is not just something you learn in the classroom," he says. "It is an exciting, enjoyable part of life."

For further information about the Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series, call Karen Becker at 914-758-7508.

This event was last updated on 03-02-2001

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