Physicist David Snoke writes to say that the abstracts and bios for the papers at the annual meeting of the Christian Scientific Society (April 15-16) are now posted online. A less familiar voice might be Perimeter Institute affiliate Rob Mann:
Robert Mann, Professor of Physics and Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo
“Cosmic Particularity: a Universal Puzzle”
It is now clear that our cosmos is riddled with considerable degree of particularity. In responding to this a number of scientists have in recent years advocated a “super Copernican” revolution, in which our universe is regarded as a small part of a much larger structure known as the multiverse. Scientifically, this entails an unprecedented combination of broadened theoretical perspective with severe empirical limitations, implicitly redefining what is meant by science. Theologically, it introduces a new question: why is there something instead of everything? This talk will give an overview of the epistemic costs the multiverse extracts for both science and theology. I will also explore what alternatives there might be for understanding the atypicality of our observable universe.
Bio: Robert Mann, P.Phys., recently completed a term as chair of the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He did his undergraduate work at McMaster University, and obtained his MSc. and Ph.D. at the University of Toronto. He then spent 2 years as an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, after which he joined the University of Toronto in 1984 as an NSERC University Research Fellow. He moved to the University of Waterloo in 1987, where he became a full professor in 1991. He served as the Director of the Guelph Waterloo Physics Institute for two years before becoming Chair in 2001. Dr. Mann’s research interests are in gravitation, cosmology and particle physics. with particular interests in black hole thermodynamics quantum gravity, particle physics, quantum information, chaotic phenomena, and the relationship between science and religion. He has published over 200 refereed articles in scientific journals, has given over 150 invited talks and made several media appearances. He has taught physics at all levels, from high school to graduate school, and has supervised ovr 40 graduate students in his career. An affiliate member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, he has served a variety of academic and scientific advisory boards, including the Ontario College of Graduate Studies, the founding board of the Institute for Quantum Computing, and the Ontario Photonics Consortium.More.
Note: I (O’Leary for News) have heard him, and he is an excellent presenter.
See also: Universe expansion speed just right for life?
Follow UD News at Twitter!