I love it when a plan comes together.
In addition to being a nuclear physicist, my duties include being the public outreach coordinator for a national laboratory (TRIUMF), which, during the World Year of Physics 2005, means one thing: lots of extra work. In fact, the outreach is dominating my work at the lab right now, as we try to get various events set up for this year.
For example, a local theatre company is putting on a production of the play "Copenhagen", which is a fabulous play about the famous encounter between Bohr and Heisenberg during the Second World War. There is lots of physics discussed in the play, so we thought of putting together a panel discussion with a physicist, a science historian and a science philosopher to talk about the play and the events surrounding it. So now I am meeting with the theatre execs and PR people trying to put this all together. What do I know about doing this kind of thing ? identically zero. But it sure is fun learning.
Anyhow, I managed to find for the panel a distinguished theorist from UBC, a science historian from UBC in the prime of his career, and and a young female philosopher from the University of Victoria, who has recently studied the work of Bohr :-) The whole plan just came together today. Having an unhealthy curiousity in all things science certainly helped me here. Well, that and google ...
Now, if someone can only teach me how to write a proposal for a TV documentary series , I'd be a happy man. It is due at the end of the week. That, and the drift field simulations for the cylindrical drift chamber we are building. Never a dull moment. Boy, I do love my job.
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