Morgan Science Lecture: "Adinkras-2-Adynkras" with Physicist Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr.

The College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce that our 2025 Morgan Science Lecture will be presented by Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr., Clark Leadership Chair, Distinguished University Professor, and Regents Professor in Science at the University of Maryland.

Title: "Adinkras-2-Adynkras"

Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Time: 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Lecture begins at 7:00 p.m. Q&A to follow.)

Format: In Person

Location: I.G. Greer Auditorium, Appalachian State University (401 Academy Street, Boone, NC 28608)

Description: This talk by world-renowned physicist Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr. explores a fascinating intersection of art and mathematics in the pursuit of quantum gravity. Dr. Gates will describe how the discovery of a class of artistic images—a "new visual technology" developed with Michael Faux in 2004—provided the key to solving a decades-old, previously unsolvable problem known as the "Witten Problem." This problem, which contains over 4.2 billion yes-or-no mathematical puzzles, relates to quantum gravity. The speaker will also draw a historical parallel to the late 1940s, when Richard Feynman's iconic visual imagery technique, now called Feynman diagrams, revolutionized quantum physics calculations. Ultimately, this talk reveals how visual aids, from Feynman's diagrams to Gates's novel artistic images, have repeatedly empowered major breakthroughs in the field.

Details: This event is free and open to the public with no ticketing or registration. For a disability accommodation, visit odr.appstate.edu.

Host: The College of Arts and Sciences at Appalachian State University

Questions? Please contact the College of Arts and Sciences at Y2FzIHwgYXBwc3RhdGUgISBlZHU= or (828) 262-3078.

Learn more at cas.appstate.edu/events/morgan-science-lecture-series.

Also check out other Arts events in Boone, Workshops in Boone.