Physicist/Artist to Explore Art-Science Connection at Conference
Published 03.20.2006
As part of the Central Pennsylvania Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers annual conference to be held at Pennsylvania College of Technology, physicist B. Atalay will offer a keynote address at 8 p.m. Friday, April 7, in the Klump Academic Center Auditorium.
Atalay is a professor of physics at the University of Mary Washington, an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia, a member of the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) and the author of the book "Math and the Mona Lisa: The Art and Science of Leonardo da Vinci."
His talk, "Leonardo's Model the Integration of Art and Science," will address symmetry in nature, art and physics and invoke the modus operandi of da Vinci – part-time artist, consummate scientist and prescient inventor. The address is free and open to the public.
Atalay earned his doctorate in theoretical physics, his master's degree in nuclear physics and his bachelor's degree in physics, mathematics and philosophy at Georgetown University. He was also awarded a master's degree by decree from Oxford University. His postdoctoral research took place at the University of California-Berkeley, Princeton University, Oxford University and the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton.
Also an accomplished artist, Atalay's two books of lithographs "Lands of Washington" and "Oxford and the English Countryside" can be found in the permanent collections of Buckingham Palace, the Smithsonian Institution and the White House.
Immediately following the talk, Atalay will host a book signing for "Math and the Mona Lisa."
The CPS-AAPT conference begins on Penn College's campus April 7 and continues April 8. The conference includes invited and contributed papers and talks, as well as a poster session for students.
The CPS-AAPT includes college and high school physics educators from 38 counties in central Pennsylvania. This year's conference is coordinated by David S. Richards, associate professor of physics at Penn College and vice president for CPS-AAPT.
For additional information about Atalay, visit online .
For more information about Penn College, call toll-free (800) 367-9222 or visit on the Web.