Jim will be speaking to us on the topic of the weirdness of quantum physics and how physicists cannot agree on what it all means.

Jim studied physics at the University of Surrey. He graduated with a B.Sc. degree in 1986 and stayed on to pursue a Ph.D. degree in nuclear reaction theory, which he obtained in 1989. In that year he was awarded a Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) postdoctoral fellowship at University College London. He returned to Surrey in 1991, first as a research assistant then lecturer. In 1994, Al-Khalili was awarded an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Advanced Research Fellowship for five years, during which time he established himself as a leading expert on mathematical models of exotic atomic nuclei.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili is a quantum physicist, author and broadcaster based at the University of Surrey where he also holds a chair in the Public Engagement in Science. He has written and contributed to many popular science books, between them translated into thirteen languages.  He is also a regular presenter of TV science documentaries such as the BBC series “Atom” (2007), “Science and Islam” (2008) and, most recently, “Chaos” and the series on which this lecture is based: Chemistry: A Volatile History. He received the 2007 Royal Society Michael Faraday medal and prize and an OBE in 2008 for his work on science communication."