The UMD Department of Physics
cordially invites you to the

Charles W. Misner Memorial Symposium

honoring the life and work of Professor Misner (June 13, 1932-July 24, 2023), who served on the UMD faculty from 1963 until his retirement in 2000.

Saturday, November 11, 2023
9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

Edward St. John Learning & Teaching Center
Room 2208
4131 Campus Drive
College Park, MD 20742
Free parking is available in Regents Drive Garage (except on the top level).

For questions, including disability accommodations, please contact the Department of Physics at physchair-rsvp@umd.edu or 301-405-5944.

About the Symposium
This symposium will include talks on the scientific contributions of Professor Misner and their legacy. Speakers include Professors Steven Carlip, Ted Jacobson, Saul Teukolsky and Kip S. Thorne, as well as time for contributed remarks and reminiscences by those present.

The Charles W. Misner Memorial Symposium on Gravitation and the Cosmos is a free event. There is an opportunity to make an optional donation to the Weber Endowment for Gravitational Physics in memory of Professor Misner. In July 2019, Professor Misner and his wife Susanne established the Weber Endowment for Gravitational Physics to support the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences' physics and/or astronomy activities related to gravitational waves. The endowment serves as a permanent memorial to Professor Joseph Weber and the University of Maryland's roles in the development of gravitational wave detection and theory. Professors Weber and Misner worked together when Misner was a graduate student, and Misner later joined Weber to work at UMD in 1963. As colleagues from 1963 until Weber's passing in 2000, the two were in continual contact concerning gravitational waves. The Misners delighted in seeing Weber widely acknowledged as the father of gravitational wave astronomy.

As part of the weekend memorial, Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne will give a Special Public Lecture on Gravitational Physics on Friday, November 10 at 4:15 p.m. in Room 1412 of the John S. Toll Physics Building.