Accelerator physicist Brian Foster (left) will pair with virtuoso violinist Jack Liebeck Photo credit: Richard Lea-Hair 2004

Durham, N.C. - A distinguished physics professor and a young violinist will present "From Einstein to Superstrings," a musical lecture on epic physicist Albert Einstein's life, ideas and scientific legacy at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, in the Nelson Music Room on Duke University's East Campus.

The free presentation is sponsored by Duke's physics and music departments as one of a semester-long series of events at the university as part of "World Year of Physics 2005." World Year of Physics 2005 is a United Nations-endorsed international celebration of physics highlighting the discipline's vitality and its importance in the new millennium.

Oxford University physics professor Brian Foster has had a long and distinguished career working at high energy accelerators, where exotic fundamental particles are created. Jack Liebeck is a British-born violin prodigy, now in his mid-20s, who played the role of the young Mozart for BBC television at the age of 10 and began performing in concertos and recitals at 11.

The pair will combine words, music and a slide show to review Einstein's life and accomplishments as well as his love of music (Einstein was an accomplished violinist) as a springboard for exploring the world of fundamental particles.

Their musical lecture will describe both the successes and uncertainties in scientists' current understanding of these particles that make up the universe. It will also describe how superstring theory -- with its extra "hidden" dimensions -- may help resolve the uncertainties. The presentation will then show how those dimensions may actually be observed within the next generation of atom smashers.

It will conclude with a violin duet suggesting the unimaginable violence of those subatomic collisions, which could be powerful enough to produce tiny mini black holes. Foster, himself an amateur violinist, will join with Liebeck on that duet.

The music for "From Einstein to Superstrings" was created by two young Royal College of Music composers.