In this second edition of First Principles: Building Perimeter Institute, Howard Burton tells the remarkable and unconventional story—with a bold and biting humour and surprising candour—of the founding of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada. Howard was the Founding Director of Perimeter Institute and his experiences at developing the research and outreach mandates of PI are described in this thought-provoking book featuring a foreword by Nobel Laureate Roger Penrose. How was PI created from scratch, from first principles? What were the hurdles? What were the challenges? What was the ''Howard and Mike show'' all about and what did BlackBerrys and RIM have to do with PI? In vivid and compelling detail, Howard describes his remarkable odyssey of partnering with BlackBerry founder Mike Lazaridis to develop a pioneering new theoretical physics institute entirely from scratch.
Founding Director Howard Burton tells the remarkable and unconventional story of the founding of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada.
Howard Burton was a freshly-minted physics PhD from the University of Waterloo when a random job query resulted in a strange-albeit fateful-meeting with Research-in-Motion founder and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis. Mike had a crazy idea: he wanted to fund a state-of-the-art science research facility and bring in the most innovative scientists from around the world. Its mission? To study and probe the most complex, intriguing and fundamental problems of science. Mike was ready to commit $100 million of his own money to get it started. But that wasn't his only crazy idea. He wanted Howard to run it. First Principles is part-biography and part lively rumination on the world-and the world of science in particular-by the engaging physicist and former director of the prestigious Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario. Since its founding in 1999, the Institute has received more than $125 million in government grants, not including the eye-popping sum of $150 million that Mike Lazaridis has donated from his own personal fortune.
In this engaging epistolary memoir, Howard Burton describes his early experiences of moving with his family to a medieval hilltop village called Le Pouget in Languedoc after years of running Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada. The Languedoc region is sometimes referred to as the “real South of France”— thanks to its largely unspoilt, breathtakingly-beautiful countryside, traditional wine-making villages and slower pace of life. This delightful book details what it is really like to move to France and try to build up a new life in a culture that Howard and his family thought they were familiar with until they encountered countless surprises, some positive and some negative…
This book is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Lee Smolin who is a faculty member of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. The basis of this wide-ranging conversation are Lee Smolin’s books Life of the Cosmos and Time Reborn. This detailed discussion offers an investigation of time, both what it is and how the true nature of it impacts our world and future and provides behind-the scenes insights into the development of Lee Smolin’s groundbreaking theory on the nature of time. This carefully-edited book includes an introduction, Full Circle, and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter: I. Physics via Architecture - The power of Einstein II. Justifying the Laws - Two possibilities III. Collaboration - Physics meets politics IV. Rolling Up Our Sleeves - Towards overcoming tautologies V. Cosmological Natural Selection - Evolutionary details VI. The Meta-law Dilemma - Harder and harder VII. Scientific Impact - Implications, applications and responses VIII. Making A Difference - The heart of the matter About Ideas Roadshow Conversations: This book is part of an expanding series of 100+ Ideas Roadshow conversations, each one presenting a wealth of candid insights from a leading expert through a focused yet informal setting to give non-specialists a uniquely accessible window into frontline research and scholarship that wouldn't otherwise be encountered through standard lectures and textbooks.
With Thomas Lewis as his guide, Howard Burton takes us on a thought-provoking personal journey of deepening his understanding of a wide range of key societal issues illuminated by the COVID-19 pandemic, from biomedical science to the nature of politics, as part of the process of creating the documentary film, Pandemic Perspectives, and having detailed conversations with 32 leading experts in biology, education, history, law, philosophy, politics and more. In the different essays Howard thoughtfully weaves together the different expert perspectives and makes intriguing connections through an engaging narrative. Examples of societal issues that are examined: - The need to rethink current educational practices - The future of scientific research - The challenges of making evidence-based public policy in an age of rapid information and misinformation - The widespread confusion about how science actually works - The importance of balancing basic and applied research - The implications for coherently addressing climate change - The tension between individual liberties and communitarian ideals - The need to critically evaluate the level of care in our society - The importance of looking at history during a time of crisis - The perils of nationalism and the necessity of thinking globally - To what extent the pandemic has revealed our true moral nature Visit our website for details about the documentary film, Pandemic Perspectives: https://ideasroadshow.com/.
By a curious set of circumstances, Howard Burton found himself hired as a fundraising consultant at UNESCO's Paris headquarters. Overwhelmed by the bureaucratic double-speak and smug complacency that he encountered everywhere he went, he decided to use his clear-eyed analytical skills to ask a very different sort of question: What, exactly, was UNESCO doing that was actually worth funding in the first place? Filled with his customary dry wit and penetrating observations, this book is another insightful and provocative work of societal commentary from the author of First Principles: Building Perimeter Institute and Exceptionally Upsetting: How Americans are increasingly confusing knowledge with opinion & what can be done about it.
As American society becomes more polarized by the day, the question of how this "exceptional nation" can hope to regain its mojo is more pressing than ever before. With his unique blend of wry humor and clear-headed analysis, Howard Burton, creator and host of the award-winning Ideas Roadshow, wades into America's partisan fray, weaving together historical investigation, pop culture and a passionate belief in the country's true strengths in order to develop a concrete way out of the current culture war.
Conversations About Physics, Volume 2, includes the following 5 carefully-edited Ideas Roadshow Conversations featuring leading physicists. This collection includes a detailed preface highlighting the connections between the different books. Each book is broken into chapters with a detailed introduction and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter: 1. Pushing the Boundaries - A Conversation with former mathematical physicist and writer Freeman Dyson, who was one of the most celebrated polymaths of our age. Freeman Dyson had his academic home for more than 60 years at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He has reshaped thinking in fields from math to astrophysics to medicine, while pondering nuclear-propelled spaceships designed to transport human colonists to distant planets. During this wide-ranging conversation Freeman looks back on his simultaneously transformative careers in theoretical physics, mathematics, biology, rocket ship design, nuclear disarmament and writing. 2. Harnessing the Sun - A Conversation with Jenny Nelson, Professor of Physics and Head of the Climate Change mitigation team at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London. After inspiring insights about Jenny Nelson’s academic journey, the conversation examines different solar energy processes, solar energy conversion technology, novel varieties of material for use in solar cells, and the materials used to build and improve photovoltaic, and other renewable technologies, which convert energy from the sun into electricity. 3. The Pull of the Stars - A Conversation with Claudia de Rham, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London. After inspiring insights about Claudia de Rham’s upbringing in Madagascar and her academic journey, this in-depth conversation explores her research in cosmology, the public perception and communication of science to the general public, gender issues and stereotypes in physics, and recommendations for physics teachers to inspire the next generation. 4. Examining Time - A Conversation with Lee Smolin, faculty member of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. The basis of this thought-provoking conversation are Lee Smolin’s books Life of the Cosmos and Time Reborn. This detailed discussion offers an investigation of time, both what it is and how the true nature of it impacts our world and future and provides behind-the scenes insights into the development of Lee Smolin’s groundbreaking theory on the nature of time. 5. SETI: Astronomy - A Conversation with Jill Tarter, Chair Emeritus for SETI Research at SETI Institute and Former Director of the Center for SETI Research. Astronomer Jill Tarter has spent the majority of her professional life driving forward the science and technology of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, rigorously scanning the sky for the signs of some signal sent to us from outer space. This wide-ranging conversation explores the history of the scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence, what the present state is of our quest for signals from other planets, what those signals might look like and how we can interpret them, how SETI research has a surprisingly positive effect on other technologies, how citizens can get involved with astronomy and much more. Howard Burton is the founder and host of all Ideas Roadshow Conversations and was the Founding Executive Director of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics and an MA in philosophy.
A new presentation of quantum theory and quantum information based on fundamental principles, for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the subject.
