5th Annual Seven Pines Symposium

Held May 30 - June 3, 2001

Stillwater, Minnesota

The Seven Pines Symposium The Seven Pines Symposium is dedicated to bringing historians, philosophers, and physicists together for several days in a collaborative effort to probe and clarify significant foundational issues in physics, as they have arisen in the past and continue to challenge our understanding today.

The fifth annual Seven Pines Symposium was held from May 30-June 3, 2001, on the subject, "The Quantum Nature of Gravitation, Space, and Time." It was held at the Outing Lodge at Pine Point near Stillwater, Minnesota, a beautiful facility surrounded by spacious grounds with many trails for walking and hiking. Its idyllic setting and superb cuisine make it an ideal location for small informal meetings. It is owned and operated by Lee Gohlike, the founder of the Seven Pines Symposium.

Unlike the typical conference, twice as much time is devoted to discussions following the talks than to the talks themselves, and long mid-day breaks permit small groups to assemble at will. As preparation for the talks and discussions, the speakers prepare summarizing statements and background reading materials, which are distributed in advance to all of the participants. Twenty historians, philosophers, and physicists were invited to participate in this year’s symposium. James Glanz, science writer for the New York Times, also attended.

Each day the speakers set the stage for the discussions by addressing major historical, philosophical, and physical issues related to the quantum nature of gravitation, space, and time. In the morning of Thursday, May 31, Nick Huggett (Illinois at Chicago) spoke on "Classical Notions of Space and Time" and John D. Norton (Pittsburgh) spoke on "Spacetime in General Relativity." In the afternoon, Robert M. Wald (Chicago) spoke on "Observables and Singularities in Classical General Relativity" and Helge Kragh (Aarhus) spoke on "Historical Roots of Quantum Gravity." In the morning of Friday, June 1, Jeffrey Harvey (Chicago) and Amanda Peet (Toronto) spoke on "The Nature and Status of String Theory." In the afternoon, Donald Marolf (Syracuse) spoke on "Spacetime Structure in String Theory" and Carlo Rovelli (Marseille) spoke on "Spacetime Structure in Loop Quantum Gravity." In the morning of Saturday, June 2, Karel V. Kuchar (Utah) and John Earman (Pittsburgh) spoke on "The Problem of Time." In the afternoon, William G. Unruh (British Columbia) spoke on "Black Holes in Quantum Gravity" and Raphael Bousso (UC Santa Barbara) spoke on "Holography and Complementarity." A closing discussion on Sunday morning, June 3, was chaired by Roger H. Stuewer (Minnesota).

Lee Gohlike, the founder of the Seven Pines Symposium, has had a life-long interest in the history and philosophy of physics, which he has furthered through graduate studies at the Universities of Minnesota and Chicago. To plan the symposia, which will be held annually, he established an advisory board consisting of Roger H. Stuewer (Minnesota), Chair, Jed Z. Buchwald (MIT), John Earman (Pittsburgh), Geoffrey Hellman (Minnesota), Don Howard (Notre Dame), and Alan E. Shapiro (Minnesota). Also participating in the fifth annual Seven Pines Symposium were Abhay Ashtekar (Penn State), Jeremy Butterfield (Oxford), Michel Janssen (Minnesota), Serge Rudaz (Minnesota), and Rafael D. Sorkin (Syracuse).

The sixth annual Seven Pines Symposium will be held from May 15-18, 2002, on the subject, "Symmetry and Symmetry Breaking in Physics."

(posted 6/25/01)