General Relativity at One Hundred, March 10-12, 2016

The sixth biennial Francis Bacon Conference, entitled "General Relativity at One Hundred," was occasioned by the centennial of Einstein's general theory of relativity. The collaboration among physicists, historians, and philosophers explored topics ranging from the early history of general relativity to ongoing experimental projects, including gravitational wave detection and precision tests, and various fronts of theoretical research.

The conference was organized by Caltech's Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, and the Burke Institute, in collaboration with the Huntington's Research Division. The conference was made possible by the generous financial support of the Francis Bacon Foundation, together with the fund at the Burke Institute.

6th Bacon Award Public Lecture
March 10-12, 2016
The Huntington Library

Kip Thorne, Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus, Caltech
"100 Years of Relativity: From the Big Bang to Black Holes and Gravitational Waves" PDF slides

Barry Barish, Ronald and Maxine Linde Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Caltech
"The Quest for Gravitational Waves" PDF files

Jamie Bock, Professor of Physics, Caltech; Jet Propulsion Laboratory Senior Research Scientist,
"Searching for a Cosmological Background of Gravitational Waves" PDF sides

Harry Collins, Professor, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University
"The Search for Gravitational Waves: Sociological and Philosophical Investigations" PDF slides

Don Howard, Reilly Fellow, John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values, University of Notre Dame
"How General Relativity Shaped Twentieth-Century Philosophy of Science" PDF slides

Daniel Kennefick, Associate Professor of Physics, University of Arkansas
"History of Gravitational Wave Emission" PDF slides

Diana Kormos-Buchwald, Professor of History, Caltech
"Einstein & Caltech"

John Preskill, Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Caltech
"Quantum Information and Spacetime" PDF slides

John H. Schwarz, Harold Brown Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus, Caltech
"Unifying GR with Quantum Theory" PDF slides

Clifford Will, Distinguished Professor of Physics, University of Florida
"Was Einstein Right? A Centennial Assessment" PDF slides