Speaker: Fedele Lizzi (Naples University, Italy) Title: Pointless Physics Abstract: I will describe the role of points in modern physics, and in particular, in the attempts to build a theory of quantum gravity. Modern theories will require a quantum spacetime, and in it the usual concept of spacetime composed of points, as we have used
Speaker: Robert Scherrer (Vanderbilt University) Title: New Directions in Dark Matter Abstract: The nature of dark matter remains one of the enduring mysteries of modern cosmology. While the evidence for dark matter continues to be overwhelming, all searches for dark matter have come up empty so far, and the standard WIMP (weakly-interacting massive particle) paradigm