Most of the Universe is invisible, but the invisibles determine our everyday existence. The CERN Large Hadron collider may produce signals of dark matter, new forces of nature or cousins of the Higgs boson. Discoveries from the LHC and from other experiments and observatories will be needed to pull together a coherent picture of the invisible world and explain the first instants of the Big Bang.

In this very non-technical talk Baym describes how quantum mechanics came about, starting with physicists in the late nineteenth century trying to understand why hot metal in blacksmith shops glowed red (like a hot stove burner) and became more bluish when even hotter.

Vuletić discusses the basic principles of trapping individual atoms in arrays of light beams and describe two applications: the coupling of single atoms to single photons in high-quality cavities and quantum computing using neutral atoms.

This lecture explores the extraordinary lengths scientists go to capture and study these “ghostly” particles, from massive underground detectors to space-based observatories. Learn how these investigations are shedding light on the hidden fabric of the universe and bringing us closer to answering some of science’s most profound questions.

Meigan Aronson is an experimental condensed matter physicist whose research centers on the discovery and exploration of quantum materials.

In this lecture, Melko examines the thread of emergence which connects different mysteries, such as superconductivity, universality, life, consciousness, and the appearance of internet memes.

Supermassive Black Holes are awesome! But do you know what’s even more awesome? Merging supermassive black holes! Black holes smashing together is one of the most powerful and weirdest phenomena in the universe, and astronomers want to measure where, when, and how often it happens.

Philipp Kukura describes the development of mass photometry – a method that measures the mass of biomolecules and tiny particles, such as viruses, by shining light at them, effectively ‘looking at them’. He explains the principles of operation, and shows how this technique is being used broadly in academia and industry to understand the basis of disease, and aid in the development of next generation therapeutics.

Najita describes our current picture of the origins of stars and planets, the new insights gained, and the challenges we face. She also comments on what the results say about how humans make scientific advances and the kinds of investments that are vital to sustaining discovery.

In her talk, Raquel introduces the new notion of quantum geometry in quantum materials and its crucial role in determining properties and phases of matter. She discusses how quantum geometry is essential to protect emergent phases where interactions between electrons are strong and electrons behave in remarkable ways, such as those where electrons pair up and condense into a macroscopic quantum state or phases where electrons are broken into independent fractions with new quantum statistics.