KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A prize-winning author and physicist whose book is featured in a new University of Tennessee academic program will speak here Nov. 13.
Dr. Alan Lightman, professor of science and writing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will talk about science and the humanities at 7:30 p.m. at UT-Knoxville’s University Center auditorium.
Lightman wrote “Einstein’s Dreams,” a fictional account of the nature of time, which has received international critical acclaim. The book has been translated into more than 20 languages.
Dr. Tom Broadhead, director of UT-Knoxville’s Honors Program, said Lightman’s book is required reading for students in UT-Knoxville’s Academic Prelude program.
The program was established this fall as an academic orientation to help incoming freshman explore a wide range of study techniques and learning strategies, Broadhead said.
The Academic Prelude program and Lightman’s talk are supported by UT-Knoxville’s offices of academic and student affairs and the University Honors Program. The talk is free and open to the public.
Lightman, a Memphis native, formerly taught physics and astronomy at Harvard University and has written for Harper’s, The New Yorker and Smithsonian magazines. His “Origins: The Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists” won the 1990 Association of American Publishers’ award for the best book in physical science.
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Contact: Dr. Tom Broadhead (423-974-3565)