Friday, December 10th, 2021 – 1:00PM – Della Pietra Auditorium – 103
SBU Provost, Paul M. Goldbart will be giving a special seminar on the work of Giorgio Parisi, a 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics winner. The 2021 Nobel Prize ceremony will also be held on this date in Sweden.
Title: Parisi’s discovery and interpretation of replica symmetry breaking in complex systems
Giorgio Parisi’s discovery and subsequent interpretation of the mechanism of replica symmetry breaking is an outstanding example of the value of curiosity-driven research. Initiated by the quest to understand random magnetic freezing observed in an obscure class of metal alloys known as spin glasses, the framework developed by Parisi has since provided the technical and conceptual basis for numerous compelling developments in a variety of complex systems that range far beyond the initial target. Settings include neural information storage and processing, machine learning, random matrices, computational complexity and constraint satisfaction, and mathematical probability theory. My aim in this talk is to give a self-contained introduction to the key steps taken by Parisi that continue to shine light on the field of complex systems and reveal rich, unanticipated structures — and which led to his sharing the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics.
For more information on Nobel Prize recipient, Giorgio Parisi, please visit The Nobel Prize Organization.