Past Events

This year's John Carlson Lecture was given by Royal Society Professor of Climate Physics at UK's Oxford University, Tim Palmer, who gave an engaging talk about the limitations of contemporary weather and climate forecast models, and how despite them, even for such an inherently chaotic system, there is still the possibility of making meaningful predictions.

Edward Lorenz's pioneering work on systems whose evolution is unpredictable and chaotic was motivated by a skepticism about the use of statistical models to predict next month's weather. And yet, on the web and elsewhere, one can find predictions not only of next month's weather, but also of the human effect on long-term climate. Can we have any confidence at all in long-range predictions of weather? And should we believe these estimates of human-induced climate change? Or is the whole notion of predicting long-term changes in climate misguided and unscientific?

Predicting Climate in a Chaotic World: How certain can we be?

The talk, to the packed Simons IMAX theater, was followed by a dinner for faculty, donors and guests in the Aquarium.

Links

Pictures from the Fall 2012 Carlson Lecture
Pictures from the Fall 2011 Carlson Lecture

A Man for All Seasons (School of Science Profile of John Carlson)

Tim Palmer

Professor Leo Kadanoff has just completed a visit to MIT as the Lorenz Center's First Visiting Scientist and Spring 2012 Houghton Lecture speaker. Professor Kadanoff, a professor emeritus of physics and mathematics at the University of Chicago and a member of the Perimeter Institute, has made fundamental contributions to research in phase transitions, dynamical systems, fluid flow, and complex systems. He will return to the Lorenz Center for another two-week visit in late October.

During the week, Leo met with faculty and researchers within EAPS, the School of Science, and across MIT. He also gave two Houghton Lectures, entitled Making a Splash; Breaking a Neck: The Development of Complexity in Physical Systems on April 27th and Small Programs, Big Ideas: "In Praise of “Little Science” on May 3rd.