Chaos, Black Holes, and Quantum Mechanics: A Free Public Lecture at UC Santa Cruz

What do unpredictable weather, swirling black holes, and the strange rules of quantum physics have in common? More than you might think. On Friday, May 29th, one of the world's leading theoretical physicists will explain the surprising connections between them.

UC Santa Cruz's Department of Physics invites the public to the Stanley Flatté Memorial Lecture, featuring Stanford professor Stephen Shenker. The talk, titled Chaos, Black Holes, and Quantum Mechanics, takes place at the 418 Project's Large Theater, with refreshments beginning at 5:00 PM and the lecture at 6:00 PM. Admission is free and open to all.

Shenker's talk will explore how chaos, the mathematical phenomenon that makes long-range weather forecasting so notoriously unreliable, turns out to be deeply embedded in the physics of black holes. Far from being just an inconvenience, chaos appears to be a fundamental feature of how black holes behave, and understanding it is opening new doors in the decades-long effort to reconcile quantum mechanics with Einstein's theory of gravity.

Shenker, a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, the Onsager Prize, and the prestigious Dirac Medal, has spent his career tackling some of the hardest problems in theoretical physics. From phase transitions to the nonperturbative structure of quantum gravity. He is a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, and served as Director of the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics for over a decade.

The Flatté Lecture series honors the legacy of Stan Flatté, a beloved UC Santa Cruz physics professor, by bringing distinguished scientists to speak with the broader community. This year's installment promises to be an accessible, mind-expanding evening at the edge of human knowledge. Don't miss it.

Friday, May 29, 2026 | 418 Project, Santa Cruz | Refreshments 5 PM · Lecture 6 PM | Free admission