5:00–6:30 pm Swift Hall Third Floor Lecture Room
Physics provides us with a shockingly successful description of the universe from a tiny fraction of a second after the Big Bang until today. We have accurate measurements of the age and contents of the universe, a compelling description of how the elements are forged, how galaxies are born and grow, and how stars form, live, and die. One recurring theme in the development of modern cosmology is the need for modesty: we live on an average planet circling an average star in the outskirts of a nondescript galaxy at a relatively boring moment in the history of the universe.
The 2025 Nuveen Lecture will explore how these insights might inform thinking about existential risk, suggesting that it falls upon all of us to prevent a self-inflicted catastrophe. This observation is especially salient given that the Doomsday Clock now stands at 89 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been, signifying that this might be the most dangerous moment in the history of civilization.