News Releases

Colloquium series continues with lecture on quantum theory

NEW PALTZ — The School of Science and Engineering at the State University of New York at New Paltz will continue its 2003-2004 colloquium series at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, in the Coykendall Science Building, with a lecture titled “Quantum Theory Challenges Reality: the EPR Experiment.”

David Clark, associate dean of the School of Science and Engineering and a distinguished professor of mathematics, will be this month’s speaker. His lecture will focus on how quantum theory has served to accurately predict behavior at the atomic and subatomic levels. Clark will present a famous thought experiment which Albert Einstein, one of its founders, and two colleagues devised to exonerate their point of view. The talk will be directed to a broad audience of people interested in new developments in mathematics and science.

“This is a very exciting topic,” said Clark, “which I view to be one of the most profound scientific discoveries of the 20th century. Yet, surprisingly, there seems to be little awareness of it outside of a limited circle of scientific specialists. In this lecture, I will present the entire argument in detail and discuss its consequences.”

The School of Science and Engineering was established in 2001 to bring a mathematics and science focus to the SUNY New Paltz campus. It offers bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in chemistry, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, environmental science, geology, mathematics and physics.

The colloquia are free and open to the public. A reception will follow the lecture. For more information or directions, call (845) 257-3728 or visit the School of Science and Engineering on the Web at www.newpaltz.edu/sse.

Note to editors: A photograph of David Clark may be downloaded from the SUNY New Paltz Web site at www.newpaltz.edu/news/images/clark.html.