Lectures
All new Breakthrough Prize recipients are invited to give lectures targeting a general audience, acquainting them with the ideas and discoveries, including those that have been recognized by the prize and how they fit into the current state of the field. These lectures are also available on our YouTube channel.
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September 20, 2023
The Future of Neurotechnology in the Discovery and Treatment of Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disease
Huda Zoghbi, Purdue University
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September 12, 2023
The Story Behind the Development of Next Generation DNA
David Klenerman, King’s College London
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August 02, 2023
Big New Accelerators and the Future of Particle Physics
Nima Arkani-Hamed, Instituto de Física Teórica, IFT-UNESP
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July 28, 2023
The Meaning of Spacetime
Juan Maldacena, Perimeter Institute
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May 30, 2023
"Designer DNA Drug" Therapy for Neurodegenerative Disease
Don Cleveland, Keio University
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May 26, 2023
Using AI to Accelerate Scientific Discovery
Demis Hassabis, EPFL
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February 06, 2023
Pharmacological Adaptation of Proteostasis to Ameliorate Aging-associated Degenerative Diseases
Jeffery Kelly, Broad Institute
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January 23, 2023
Non-Measurability of the Inverse Theorem for the Gowers Norms
Terence Tao, Institute for Advanced Study
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January 06, 2023
A Stroll Around the Critical Potts Model
Martin Hairer, Joint Mathematics Meetings
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December 01, 2022
Quantum Matter, Clocks, and Fundamental Physics
Jun Ye, Caltech
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November 15, 2022
Harnessing Plants Initiative
Joanne Chory, CCG UNAM
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July 29, 2020
The Discovery of Pulsars – A Graduate Student's Story
Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Astrofísica UC
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July 03, 2020
Recent Progress on the Black Hole Information Paradox
Juan Maldacena, (Virtual) Strings 2020
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July 02, 2020
Volumes of Supermoduli Spaces
Edward Witten, (Virtual) Strings 2020
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November 20, 2019
New Measurements of the Expansion Rate of the Universe
Adam Riess, Brown University
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November 18, 2019
The Warped Side of the Universe
Kip Thorne, Cardiff University
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October 03, 2019
Constant Change: The Ever-Developing Brain
Cori Bargmann, Rockefeller University
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August 18, 2019
Unravelling the Universe with Mathematical Puzzles
Cumrun Vafa, Uppsala University
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May 21, 2019
Harry Steenbock Lectures in Biochemistry Lecture 2
Hans Clevers, University of Wisconsin
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May 20, 2019
Harry Steenbock Lectures in Biochemistry Lecture 1
Hans Clevers, University of Wisconsin
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March 13, 2019
The Future of Humanity
Ed Boyden, MIT
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March 05, 2019
Harry Steenbock Lectures in Biochemistry Lecture 2
Huda Zoghbi, University of Wisconsin
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March 04, 2019
Harry Steenbock Lectures in Biochemistry Lecture 1
Huda Zoghbi, University of Wisconsin
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March 01, 2019
Quantum Minimal Surfaces
Maxim Kontsevich, IHES
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January 30, 2019
Obesity, Diabetes and Cancer: The Insulin Connection
Lewis Cantley, JumpstartMD Weight of the Nation Conference 2018
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January 24, 2019
Opportunites and Ethics of Editing Genomes
Jennifer Doudna, Stanford University
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October 26, 2018
The Discovery of Pulsars
Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Perimeter Institute
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October 09, 2018
PI 3-Kinase and Cancer Metabolism
Lewis Cantley, JCB-JEM Symposium
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August 22, 2018
Chan Zuckerberg Science
Cori Bargmann, Keynote, AAAS Meeting
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July 17, 2018
Light Rays and Black Holes
Edward Witten, Institute for Advanced Study
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July 16, 2018
Quantum Field Theory and Entanglement
Edward Witten, Institute for Advanced Study
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July 16, 2018
Introduction to Information Theory
Edward Witten, Institute for Advanced Study
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July 11, 2018
Black holes, SCFT's and Topological Strings
Cumrun Vafa, ICTP
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June 22, 2018
Vaporizing and Freezing the Riemann Zeta Function
Terence Tao, Università degli Studi di Milano - Bicocca
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June 20, 2018
The End of Spacetime
Nima Arkani-Hamed, SLAC
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June 15, 2018
Fifty Shades of Shade
Joanne Chory, Carnegie Science Embryology
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May 24, 2018
Geometrodynamics: The Nonlinear Dynamics of Curved Spacetime
Kip Thorne, ICTP
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May 16, 2018
Reverse Engineering the Universe
Andrei Linde, Stanford University
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May 11, 2018
Wormholes
Juan Maldacena, Harvard Black Hole Initiative
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May 11, 2018
The EFThedron
Nima Arkani-Hamed, Harvard Black Hole Initiative
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May 09, 2018
Prospects and Challenges for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rainer Weiss, Black Hole Iniative Keynote
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May 07, 2018
Cancer Research: from Gene Identification to Personalized Medicine
Bert Vogelstein, Tel Aviv University
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May 04, 2018
The Cool Alter-Ego of a Black Hole
Juan Maldacena and Douglas Stanford, Institute for Advanced Study
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April 03, 2018
Exceptional Holonomy and Related Geometric Structures: Basic Theory
Simon Donaldson, Institute for Advanced Study
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March 10, 2018
Beyond the Cradle
Rainer Weiss, MIT
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February 26, 2018
Tools for Mapping and Repairing Brain Circuitry
Edward Boyden, Stanford University
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February 21, 2018
Future of Our Universe
Ashoke Sen, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics
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January 08, 2018
Symmetries, Duality, and the Unity of Physics
Nathan Seiberg, TIFR
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January 04, 2018
Infrared Divergences in QED and Quantum Gravity
Andrew Strominger, Instituto Balseiro - Académico
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December 20, 2017
The Innovators: Don Cleveland
Don Cleveland, KRWG
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December 06, 2017
Using Ancient Genomes and Model Systems to Study Uniquely Human Phenotypes
Svante Paabo, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
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December 05, 2017
What is Autophagy? A Dynamic Cellular Recycling Process
Yosniro Ohsumi, Molecular Frontiers Symposium
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December 05, 2017
Near-coherent Scrambling
Alexei Kitaev, Institute for Advanced Study
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November 15, 2017
When Good Genes Go Bad: Deciphering the Cancer Genome
Titia de Lange, The Rockefeller University
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November 09, 2017
CERN: Unravelling Mysteries of Physics and Promoting International Cooperation
Fabiola Gianotti, Canada Foundation for Innovation
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November 02, 2017
Stem Cells: Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?
Hans Clevers, Max Planck Society
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October 26, 2017
The Story of Rett Syndrome & Its Insights into Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Huda Zoghbi, Canada Gairdner International Awards
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October 26, 2017
Rewriting the Code of Life
Jennifer A. Doudna, CASW
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October 16, 2017
Keynote Address
Cornelia I. Bargmann, National Academy of Medicine
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July 08, 2017
New Chemical Engineering Approaches to Convergence
Robert S. Langer, MIT
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May 18, 2017
The Ribosome - Mothership of Life: Can It Tell Us Where We Came From?
Harry Noller, UC Santa Cruz
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May 08, 2017
Genomics, Big Data, and Medicine
Richard P. Lifton, Icahn School of Medicine
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May 01, 2017
Gene editing and genome engineering with CRISPR-Cas9
Emmanuelle Charpentier, Molecular Frontiers Symposium Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
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April 05, 2017
Anti-Angiogenic Therapy: From Bench To Clinic
Napoleone Ferrara, Wound Healing Foundation
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April 05, 2017
Unwinding the Amplituhedron
Nima Arkani-Hamed, Institute for Advanced Study
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April 03, 2017
A New Measurement of the Expansion of the Universe
Adam Riess, ESA
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March 11, 2017
Interactive Keynote: Jennifer Doudna — SXSW 2017
Jennifer Doudna, SXSW 2017
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February 23, 2017
Secrets of the Human Genome
Eric Lander, MIT
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January 30, 2017
Bunyan Lecture 2017
Rainer Weiss, Stanford University
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January 30, 2017
Integrability and Four-Dimensional Gauge Theory
Edward Witten, UCLA
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January 11, 2017
How Telomeres Solve the End-Protection Problem
Titia de Lange, iBiology
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January 11, 2017
Telomeres and Human Disease
Titia de Lange, iBiology
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December 08, 2016
Ancient DNA View of Human Origins
Svante Pääbo, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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November 08, 2016
Integrated Brainwide Structural and Functional Analysis
Karl Deisseroth, UCLA
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October 05, 2016
2016 Emilio Segré Lecture
Rainer Weiss, UC Berkeley
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September 20, 2016
Development of Optogenetics
Karl Deisseroth, iBiology
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September 19, 2016
Lecture on Turbulence
Alexander Polyakov, Niels Bohr International Academy
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September 17, 2016
The SYK Model, AdS_2 and Conformal Symmetry
Juan Maldacena, Institute for Advanced Study
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September 15, 2016
Some Boundary States for Bosons
Edward Witten, Institute for Advanced Study
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September 15, 2016
Nati Puts You On Shell
Nima Arkani-Hamed, Institute for Advanced Study
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September 15, 2016
A 2D Stress Tensor for 4D Gravity
Andrew Strominger, Institute for Advanced Study
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September 02, 2016
Dolly @ 20 Symposium
Shinya Yamanaka, The Roslin Institute
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July 11, 2016
Cancer Genomes and Their Implications for Prevention
Bert Vogelstein, MIT
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July 02, 2016
Resurgence and exact quantization via holomorphic Floer cohomology
Maxim Kontsevich, Collège de France
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July 02, 2016
Physics and Mathematics for the End of Spacetime
Nima Arkani-Hamed, Collège de France
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June 04, 2016
Reflections on Precision Medicine and Cancer Moonshots
Charles Sawyers, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
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May 02, 2016
Secrets of the Human Genome
Eric Lander, MIT
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May 02, 2016
Epigenetics in Development and Disease
David Allis, IBiology
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May 02, 2016
Epigenetics: Why Your DNA Isn’t Enough
David Allis, IBiology
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April 14, 2016
A Deeper Understanding of the Universe from 2 km Underground
Art McDonald, Perimeter Institute
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April 11, 2016
The Transformative CRISPR-Cas9 Technology in Genome Engineering: Lessons Learned from Bacteria
Emmanuelle Charpentier, HKUST
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March 30, 2016
Genes, Neurons, Circuits and Behavior: An Integrated Approach in a Compact Brain
Cori Bargmann, MIT
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March 25, 2016
Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Cancer Therapy
James Allison, UC Berkeley
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March 21, 2016
Black Holes and the Structure of Spacetime
Juan Maldacena, Harvard University
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March 11, 2016
From the Big Bang to Black Holes and Gravitational Waves
Kip Thorne, Caltech
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February 19, 2016
Engineering Revolutions
Edward Boyden, World Economic Forum
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December 09, 2015
Can We Create New and Better Biomaterials
Robert Langer, National Academy of Engineering
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November 24, 2015
Masterclass with Robert Weinberg
Robert Weinberg, MIT
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November 20, 2015
Kaehler-Einstein Metrics and Algebraic Geometry 1
Simon Donaldson, Harvard University
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November 20, 2015
Kaehler-Einstein Metrics and Algebraic Geometry 2
Simon Donaldson, Harvard University
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November 12, 2015
How CRISPR Lets Us Edit or DNA
Jennifer Doudna, TED
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November 11, 2015
Quantum Gravity
Juan Maldacena, Institute for Advanced Study
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November 11, 2015
Cosmology and the Arrow of Time
Alan Guth, University of Bern, Lecture 3
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November 10, 2015
Eternal Inflation and Its Implications
Alan Guth, University of Bern, Lecture 2
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November 09, 2015
Inflationary Cosmology: Is Our Universe Part of a Multiverse?
Alan Guth, University of Bern, Lecture 1
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October 15, 2015
From Stem Cells to Cures
Shinya Yamanaka, Gladstone Institutes
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October 14, 2015
The Dark Universe
Adam Riess, The Royal Institution
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October 08, 2015
The Erdős Discrepancy Problem
Terence Tao, Institute for Pure & Applied Mathematics (IPAM)
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October 06, 2015
Epigenetics Changes Everything: Revisiting the Nature vs. Nurture Debate
David Allis, Rockefeller University
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September 30, 2015
History of Medical Success, Deep Brain Stimulation
Alim-Louis Benabid, The Brain Forum
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September 21, 2015
Head & Neck Cancer Symposium: Keynote Presentation
Lew Cantley, Boston University
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July 31, 2015
Wnt signaling, Lgr5 Stem Cells, Organoids and Cancer
Hans Clevers, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
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July 30, 2015
Fermion Path Integrals and Topological Phases
Edward Witten, Institute for Advanced Study
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July 27, 2015
Fun with Free Field Theory
Nathan Seiberg, Institute for Advanced Study
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June 27, 2015
What is String Theory?
Ashoke Sen, International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
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June 27, 2015
The Frontiers of Fundamental Physics
Nathan Seiberg, Strings 2015
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June 27, 2015
Physics and Geometry
Cumrun Vafa, International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
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June 27, 2015
The Edges of the Universe: Black Holes, Horizons and Strings
Andrew Strominger, International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
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June 27, 2015
Calculate + Observe: Fundamental Physics in the 21st Century
Nima Arkani-Hamed, International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
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June 07, 2015
Genomic Analyses of Neurodegeneration
John Hardy, FENS
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March 26, 2015
The Accelerating Universe
Adam Riess, Loyola University Maryland
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March 06, 2015
Universe or Multiverse?
Andrei Linde, UC Berkeley
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March 02, 2015
Themes and Variations in Circuits and Behavior
Cori Bargmann, MIT
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February 24, 2015
Categorification of the Fourier Transform
Jacob Lurie, Arizona State University
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February 03, 2015
On Mathematical Aspects of String Theory
Cumrun Vafa, Instituto de Matemática Pura e Aplicada
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January 22, 2015
Targeting Immune Checkpoints in Cancer Therapy
James Allison, TAMEST
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January 19, 2015
Light in the Body, Enablin Diagnosis and Imaging
Hans Clevers, International Year of Light
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January 12, 2015
CRISPR
Jennifer Doudna, Rosalind Franklin Society
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October 31, 2014
Using Fixed Circuits to Generate Flexible Behaviors
Cornelia Bargmann, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ
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October 09, 2014
Reading Genomes to Unlock the Secrets of Brain Disorders
Eric Lander, One Mind's 20th Music Festival for Brain Health
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October 09, 2014
Knots and Quantum Theory
Edward Witten, ICTP, Trieste, Italy
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October 08, 2014
The Future of Genomic Medicine
Anne Wojcicki and Richard Lifton, National Human Genome Research Institute
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September 24, 2014
Dark Matter
Heidi Newberg, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
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June 23, 2014
The Ding functional, Berndtsson Convexity and Moment Maps
Simon Donaldson, IHES, Bures-sur-Yvette, France
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May 19, 2014
Centers for Mendelian Genomics Presentation
Richard Lifton, National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research
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January 30, 2014
Biomaterials for the 21st Century and How They Will Change Our Lives
Robert Langer, Radcliffe Institute
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January 28, 2014
Electron Superhighway: A Quantum Leap for Computing
Shoucheng Zhang, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Palo Alto, CA
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December 20, 2013
From IR to UV
Nima Arkani-Hamed, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
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December 04, 2013
What's Next?
Nathan Seiberg, IAS
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November 15, 2013
Out of Equilibrium
Alexander Polyakov, IHES
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November 14, 2013
In Conversation: Nima Arkani-Hamed with Graham Farmelo
London Science Museum
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November 07, 2013
Wall-crossing and Geometry at Infinity of Betti Moduli Spaces
Maxim Kontsevich, IHES
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November 06, 2013
Stem Cells: Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?
Hans Clevers, TEDxAmersterdam
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October 30, 2013
N = 4 Super Yang-Mills Theory on the Coulomb Branch
John Schwarz, IHES
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August 20, 2013
Wormholes and Entangled States
Juan Maldacena, KITP, Santa Barbara, CA
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May 13, 2013
Inflationary Cosmology: Is Our Universe Part of a Multiverse?
Alan Guth, Hunter College (CUNY), New York, NY
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May 07, 2013
The Biology of Genomes Keynote
Eric Lander, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
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April 08, 2013
The Higgs Boson and Our Life
Fabiola Gianotti, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
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March 25, 2013
From the Higgs to the Realm of the Unknown
Joseph Incandela, National Science Foundation
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March 11, 2013
Universe or Multiverse?
Andrei Linde, State University of New York at Stony Brook
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March 06, 2013
Gravity and Quantum Mechanics: The Quest for Unification
Joe Polchinski, KITP, Santa Barbara, CA
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March 03, 2013
String Theory and the Universe
Edward Witten, Hunter College (CUNY), New York, NY
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February 20, 2013
Back to the Big Bang: From the LHC to the Higgs, and Beyond
Lyn Evans, TRIUMF
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February 13, 2013
The Discovery of the Higgs Boson
Guido Tonelli, ITEP Winter School of Physics
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December 12, 2012
The Search for a Unified Theory
Ashoke Sen, Presidency University
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October 26, 2012
The Inevitability of Physical Laws: Why the Higgs Has to Exist
Nima Arkani-Hamed, IAS
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October 03, 2012
The Symmetry and Simplicity of the Laws of Nature and the Higgs Boson
Juan Maldacena, IAS
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October 01, 2012
On the Higgs Boson Announcement from the LHC
Tejinder Virdee, Imperial College London