Max Schlosshauer, Austrian Academy of Sciences

The Elusive Quantum

Quantum theory is a marvelous intellectual achievement. From atoms to stars, from lasers to transistors, the theory's predictive power seems unlimited. But why are quantum phenomena mostly observed in microscopic systems? How does the macroscopic, "classical" world of our everyday experience relate to, or emerge from, the underlying quantum structure? These are deep questions, and people have puzzled over them since quantum theory's birth. Only in the past two decades have we found an answer (or at least a partial one). In this talk, I will tell you about this answer and about my own work on it. Theory, experiments, and concepts will be equally mentioned, and no prior knowledge of quantum theory will be required.

Nick Tufillaro, OSU

Looking at Oregon’s waters from above -- not just below.

What can you learn by focusing on water from a spectrometer in earth orbit? What lurks behind the hues of Oregon’s water colors -- plankton, sediments, and crushed leafs all afloat? Can we see any of these from space? And if we can, so what? I’ll describe efforts to look at the quality of water in Oregon’s lakes, reservoirs, and coastal ocean from space. I will show dramatic events like plankton forming surface blooms tens of kilometers in size, making colorful swirls that are easily seen from space. I will also describe a bit of the physics behind 'HICO' (Hyper-spectral Imager of the Coastal Ocean), and MERIS (MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer), two spectrometers that pass over Oregon from low earth orbit almost daily, and how we are using them to track harmful algal blooms in Oregon’s water.