Dr. Don Salisbury, Austin College professor emeritus of physics, will present a Sabbatical Series Lecture, “Time After Time (and Before?)” on Wednesday, September 28, in Wright Campus Center, Room 231 at 5 p.m. A 4:30 p.m. reception in nearby Johnson Gallery precedes the lecture. Both events, free and open to the public, are presented by the College’s Johnson Center for Faculty Development and Excellence in Teaching.
“What is time?” Salisbury asks. “Does it make sense to speak of a beginning of time—or even an end of time? These are of course questions that humans have pondered since before the beginning of recorded history—and diverse responses are firmly embedded in our various cultural identities.”
Salisbury will discuss the meaning of time as it relates to Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Though the theory is over 100 years old, Salisbury said consensus among philosophers or physicists on the underlying space time foundations of Einstein’s theory has never been reached.
“My own original research over the past two decades has focused on proposals to use the gravitational field itself as a tool for constructing timing devices and measuring rods,” Salisbury said. “Along the way I have explored, largely with collaborators at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, Germany, various historical antecedents to this approach. More recently I have looked at implications for an eventual quantum theory of gravity. This work has attracted an increasing attention of both relativists and philosophers of science. I will in part report on conversations that have ensued among us in recent meetings in Jerusalem, Munich, Marseille, and Berlin.”
Salisbury joined the Austin College faculty in 1987. He retired from full-time teaching in May 2016, but continues to teach part time and serves as the director of Austin College’s Global Science, Technology, and Society program.
The lecture is presented by Austin College’s Robert and Joyce Johnson Center for Faculty Development and Excellence in Teaching, directed by Randi Tanglen, associate professor of English. Within the mission of the center is the encouragement of “bold exploration of intellectual frontiers” and “fostering lively intellectual dialogue within and across academic disciplines.”
The Johnson Center schedules a number of events throughout the year, with presentations by Austin College faculty and guest lecturers.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 40 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of approximately 1,275 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.