2025 Morgan Science Lecture feat. Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
7:00 - 8:30 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.)
I.G. Greer Hall Auditorium, 401 Academy St, Boone, NC 28608
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University's College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and Department of Physics and Astronomy are pleased to host world-renowned physicist Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr. as the 2025 Morgan Science Lecture Series speaker. Dr. Gates' lecture, titled "Adinkras-2-Adynkras," will take place on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at 7 p.m. in the I.G. Greer Auditorium at 401 Academy Street in Boone.
Dr. Gates is a theoretical physicist at the University of Maryland. He is a John S. Toll Professor of Physics and currently holds the Clark Leadership Chair in Science. Gates is a Distinguished University Professor and serves as a Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics, as well as a Professor of Public Policy in the School of Public Policy. He is known for his work on supersymmetry, supergravity, and superstring theory. He received two B.S. degrees and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where his doctoral thesis was the institution’s first on the topic of supersymmetry.
In his talk on October 21, Gates will explore a fascinating intersection of art and mathematics in the pursuit of quantum gravity. He 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.
Following the lecture, the audience will have the opportunity to ask Gates their questions during a question-and-answer period.
Made possible by a gift from the G. William Morgan Family, the Morgan Science Lecture is free and open to the public with no ticketing or registration. For a disability accommodation, visit odr.appstate.edu. Questions about the event can be directed to the CAS Dean's Office via email at cas@appstate.edu or via phone at (828) 262-3078.
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About the Morgan Science Lecture Series at Appalachian
The Morgan Science Lecture Series at Appalachian State University was established with a gift from the G. William Morgan Family. Morgan was a 1934 graduate of Appalachian and a health physicist with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The series stimulates scientific understanding and research among the sciences by bringing researchers to campus. Previous speakers include David Suzuki, award-winning geneticist and broadcaster, evolutionary biologist Stephen J. Gould, population ecologist Paul Ehrlich, former U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, and oceanographer and underwater archaeologist Robert Ballard. Learn more at cas.appstate.edu/events/morgan-science-lecture-series.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at cas.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at appstate.edu.
By Lauren Gibbs
September 25, 2025
BOONE, N.C.
World-renowned physicist Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr., of the University of Maryland, will headline the 2025 Morgan Science Lecture at Appalachian State University. Photo submitted
World-renowned physicist Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr., of the University of Maryland, will headline the 2025 Morgan Science Lecture at Appalachian State University. Photo submitted