The quest for understanding the origin of our universe has been dramatically transformed since the expansion of the universe was discovered by Edwin Hubble in 1929, thanks to impressive advances in astronomical observations and laboratory experiments. Cosmology is now widely regarded as a precision science. Although confidence in our models has increased, deep questions remain unanswered.

Bodies bound by gravity can evolve in surprising ways. In accord with everyday experience and physical law, heat flows from regions of high to low temperature, and angular momentum from regions of fast to slow spin. However, counter to intuition, in bodies supported by thermal pressure, the hot regions become hotter, whereas in those supported by rotation, the regions of rapid spin spinup. Goldreich will explain this behavior and describe its ultimate consequences.

Prospects in Theoretical Physics is an intensive two-week summer program designed for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars considering a career in theoretical physics.  The 2009 program took place from July 13 to July 24.  First held by the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in the summer of 2002, the PiTP program is designed to provide lecture courses and informal sessions on the latest advances and open questions in various areas of theoretical physics.

Scott Tremaine, Richard Black Professor, School of Natural Sciences
One of the remarkable successes of twentieth century astronomy was the demonstration that the laws of physics derived in the laboratory can successfully describe a wide range of astronomical objects and phenomena. One of the great hopes of twenty-first century physics is that astronomy can return the favor, by allowing us to explore physics that cannot be studied in the laboratory. As examples, Professor Tremaine described three exotic forms of matter that (so far) are known to exist only from astronomical observations: black holes, dark matter, and dark energy.

Prospects in Theoretical Physics is an intensive two-week summer program designed for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars considering a career in theoretical physics.  The 2008 program took place from July 14 to July 25.  First held by the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in the summer of 2002, the PiTP program is designed to provide lecture courses and informal sessions on the latest advances and open questions in various areas of theoretical physics.

These talks were given at the workshop on "Saturation and Transport
Properties of MRI-driven Turbulence" that took place at the School of
Natural Sciences from June 16 to June 18, 2008.

Arnold J. Levine, Professor, The Simons Center for Systems Biology, School of Natural Sciences
Influenza viruses are unusual because we can become infected by a similar virus almost every year during our lifetime and occasionally there are worldwide pandemics that can cause many fatalities. Why does our usually excellent immune system fail us? How does this come about?

Graphics processing units (GPUs) are rapidly emerging as a powerful and cost-effective platform for high-performance parallel computing. The current generation of GPUs sports capabilities in TFLOP range, already an order of magnitude greater than most powerful x86 CPUs.

Prospects in Theoretical Physics is an intensive two-week summer program designed for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars considering a career in theoretical physics.  The 2007 program was held from July 16 to July 27.