Previous Van Vleck Lectures

2019
The Cosmic Ecosystem: Connecting the Life Cycles of Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe
Robert Kennicutt
University of Arizona and Texas A&M University

2017
"Stacking atomic layers: quest for new materials and physics"
Phillip Kim
Harvard University

2017
"A Deeper Understanding of the Universe from 1.2 miles Underground"
Arthur McDonald
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

2015
"Click: The 3D Universe"
Margaret Geller
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

2014
"The Epic Journey of Voyager 1 into Interstellar Space"
Don Gurnett
University of Iowa

2013
"A Random Walk to Graphene"
Andre Geim
University of Manchester

2012
"The Promise of Nanomaterials for Thermoelectric Applications"
Mildred Dresselhaus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2011
"Quantum Games, Quantum Information, and the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics"
Anton Zeilinger
University of Vienna

2009
"Spintronics: electrons, spins, computers and telephones"
Albert Fert
Thales et Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France

2008
The Coming Revolutions in Fundamental Physics"
David Gross
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics

2007
"Probing Einstein's Universe"
Barry C. Barish
CALTECH

2006
"Does the Everyday World Really Obey Quantum Mechanics?"
Sir Anthony J. Leggett
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2005
"Bose-Einstein Condensates: the Coldest Matter in the Universe"
Wolfgang Ketterle
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2004
"Holding on to Atoms and Molecules with Lasers: From Atomic Clocks to Watching Biomolecules Move"
Steven Chu
Stanford University

2003
"How does the Sun Shine?"
John N. Bahcall
Institute for Advanced Study

2002
"Fractional Charges and Other Tales from Flatland"
Horst L. Stormer
Columbia University

2001
"Some Episodes in the History of Cosmic Rays"
James W. Cronin
University of Chicago

2000
""The Case for the Next Revolution in Physics""
Yakir Aharonov
Tel Aviv University and University of South Carolina

1999
"Superfluidity in Helium Three: The Discovery Though the Eyes of a Graduate Student"
Douglas Osheroff
Stanford University

1998
"How the Brain Computes"
Charles F. Stevens
Stanford University

1997
"50 Years of Surprises: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, a Scientific Evergreen"
Charles P. Slichter
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

1996
"New Directions in Applied Physics"
Freeman J.Dyson
Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton

1995
"Dynamics of Wetting and Dewetting: Hydroplaning of Cars, Offset Printing and the Treatment of Vineyards"
P.G. de Gennes
College de France, Paris

1995
"The Path of No Resistance: Past, Present and Future"
Paul C. W. Chu
University of Houston

1994
"More is Different: The Theory of Everything"
Robert B. Laughlin
Stanford University

1994
"Water Waves, Leaky Ceilings and the Height of Mountains"
Victor F. Weisskopf
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1993
"The Physics of Infrared Astronomy"
Frank J. Low
University of Arizona

1992
"Development of Ideas About Atomic Nuclei"
Ben R. Mottelson
NORDITA, Copenhagen, Denmark

1991
"Experiments with Stored Neutrons: Measurements of Lifetime and Weight"
Wolfgang Paul
University of Bonn, Germany

1990
Charles H. Townes
University of California, Berkeley

1990
K. Alex Muller
IBM Zurich Research Laboratory and University of Zurich

1989
"Inner Space and Outer Space"
L. Lederman
Fermi National Laboratory and University of Chicago

1989
"Imaginary Time"
Steven Hawking
University of Cambridge

1989
"The Challenge in Particle Physics"
S. Glashow
Harvard University

1989
"Snatching Chaos from Order"
L. Kadanoff
University of Chicago

1988
"The Science and Technology of Directed Energy Weapons in SDI"
N. Bloembergen
Harvard University

1988
"Superconductivity: History and Recent Developments"
John Bardeen
University of Illinois, Urbana

1987
"Is Everything in the Universe Composed of Superstrings"
M. Gell-Mann
California Institute of Technology

1986
"Applications of the Quantum Hall Effect"
K. von Klitzing
Max-Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart

1985
"Magnetism at Large"
B. Bleaney
University of Oxford

1984
"The Quest for the Origin of the Elements"
W.A. Fowler
California Institute of Technology

1983
"And Just Exactly What Do You Do Dr. Anderson?"
P.W. Anderson
AT&T Bell Laboratories and Princeton University