2008 Nobel Prize in Physics Award Ceremony
I’m in here for the award of the 2008 Nobel Prize in physics to Dr. Yoichiro Nambu, now an emeritus professor after having come to the University of Chicago in 1952. He is being recognized for groundbreaking work in spontaneous symmetry breaking.
The ceremony is taking place in the Assembly Hall of the University’s International House (or “I-House”) , an imposing old art deco building that may be an old hotel . The Hall itself is a rather incongruous mix of old and new. From the black armchairs with school seals and gold trim, to the tall, narrow cathedral-like windows, to the collection of national flags mounted on the wooden walls, the place stinks of tradition and academic pomp. On the other hand, I’m sitting in the back row of the balcony section, where decade-old taupe paint is peeling off the ceiling above me and the headsetted producer of the event’s live simulcast is barking orders down to his cameramen from a thin-walled room located directly behind me. It is hard to hear what the speakers on stage are saying. The original, handworked metal light fixtures, adorned with shapes of vines and such, are strikingly beautiful, but one can’t help but notice that they descend from a drop ceiling that is also interspersed with cheap looking plastic fans.
PUT HIS FACE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRAME! COME UP A LITTLE... THERE!
President Robert Zimmer, in his welcome to the crowd, says that this Nobel Prize is further evidence of why the administration and faculty have gone to such great lengths to “preserve the University’s distinctive culture.” What he means by this, I’m not quite sure. Cue the live video feed from Stockholm. The Nobel speaker in Sweden expresses more concrete views about what a University should be. In particular it must be three things: the memory of society, the cutting edge of society and the critical mirror of society. It must stimulate, attract and refine researchers. Occassionally, they cut away from the video of his remarks in favor of who I assume must be the Princess of Sweden, who is wearing an elegant gown that puts her killer rack on full display. An ever smaller share of the world’s resources are being devoted to basic research. Our future progress as a species is in peril.
Dr. Nambu is speaking now. He uses a metaphor to dramatize his discoveries about the behavior of physical particles, something about group psychology among the constituents... He has a very thick Japanese accent, and one can’t tell whether his voice is shaking from age or from emotion. ZOOM ALL THE WAY IN! HOLD IT! It is hard to hear him. People are turning in around in their states to glare at the back room wall. That is a broken symmetry... The attire for the event is supposed to be business, but some people around me are certainly wearing jeans, and the scent of body odor is not unnoticeable. Down on the floor a cameraman in a denim shirt trips over a tripod and falls over into a pew. People pretend not to notice. Dr. Nambu is still talking. ...the *spontaneous* breaking of symmetry... The clicking and chirping of conventional and digital cameras is all around.
Dr. Nambu has finished. The hall stands to applaud. A medieval looking group in purple sashes forms at the front of the stage and starts playing a recessional on an undifferentiated quartet of long, valveless horns. Folding up our coats and putting away our notes, we are invited to an adjoining room for a reception, complete with finger desserts and a champagne toast.
The ceremony is taking place in the Assembly Hall of the University’s International House (or “I-House”) , an imposing old art deco building that may be an old hotel . The Hall itself is a rather incongruous mix of old and new. From the black armchairs with school seals and gold trim, to the tall, narrow cathedral-like windows, to the collection of national flags mounted on the wooden walls, the place stinks of tradition and academic pomp. On the other hand, I’m sitting in the back row of the balcony section, where decade-old taupe paint is peeling off the ceiling above me and the headsetted producer of the event’s live simulcast is barking orders down to his cameramen from a thin-walled room located directly behind me. It is hard to hear what the speakers on stage are saying. The original, handworked metal light fixtures, adorned with shapes of vines and such, are strikingly beautiful, but one can’t help but notice that they descend from a drop ceiling that is also interspersed with cheap looking plastic fans.
PUT HIS FACE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRAME! COME UP A LITTLE... THERE!
President Robert Zimmer, in his welcome to the crowd, says that this Nobel Prize is further evidence of why the administration and faculty have gone to such great lengths to “preserve the University’s distinctive culture.” What he means by this, I’m not quite sure. Cue the live video feed from Stockholm. The Nobel speaker in Sweden expresses more concrete views about what a University should be. In particular it must be three things: the memory of society, the cutting edge of society and the critical mirror of society. It must stimulate, attract and refine researchers. Occassionally, they cut away from the video of his remarks in favor of who I assume must be the Princess of Sweden, who is wearing an elegant gown that puts her killer rack on full display. An ever smaller share of the world’s resources are being devoted to basic research. Our future progress as a species is in peril.
Dr. Nambu is speaking now. He uses a metaphor to dramatize his discoveries about the behavior of physical particles, something about group psychology among the constituents... He has a very thick Japanese accent, and one can’t tell whether his voice is shaking from age or from emotion. ZOOM ALL THE WAY IN! HOLD IT! It is hard to hear him. People are turning in around in their states to glare at the back room wall. That is a broken symmetry... The attire for the event is supposed to be business, but some people around me are certainly wearing jeans, and the scent of body odor is not unnoticeable. Down on the floor a cameraman in a denim shirt trips over a tripod and falls over into a pew. People pretend not to notice. Dr. Nambu is still talking. ...the *spontaneous* breaking of symmetry... The clicking and chirping of conventional and digital cameras is all around.
Dr. Nambu has finished. The hall stands to applaud. A medieval looking group in purple sashes forms at the front of the stage and starts playing a recessional on an undifferentiated quartet of long, valveless horns. Folding up our coats and putting away our notes, we are invited to an adjoining room for a reception, complete with finger desserts and a champagne toast.
posted by Michael Deuser at 1:25 PM
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