Thank God for the Electron's Magnet
Stability in Turbulent Times for Science and Faith

A hard-core experimental physicist celebrates the electron's magnet as a refreshingly stable fixed point amidst contentious views of the science he pursues and the faith he practices. 

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Date: Thursday, October 27 AT 5:30 PM - 8:30 pm CT
Location: James L. Allen Center | 2169 Campus Dr., Evanston, IL

Hors d'oeuvres & Cocktails* | 5:30 PM
Seating for Dinner* | 6:15 PM
Program Begins | 6:30 PM

(A hybrid virtual option is also available for registrants**)

* The Allen Center can accommodate most dietary restrictions with at least a week's notice, so please RSVP by 11:30 AM on Wednesday, October 19th, so we can best accommodate you (indicate on RSVP form). Food and beverage provided courtesy of the John Templeton Foundation.
** The link for virtual guests will be sent out to registrants who chose the online option closer to the time of the event.

Gerald Gabrielse

Trustees Professor of Physics and Director of the Center for Fundamental Physics at Northwestern

Gerald Gabrielse, Trustees Professor and Director of the Center for Fundamental Physics at Northwestern, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  He was Harvard's Levenson Professor of Physics, its Physics Department Chair, and recipient of both Harvard's Leveson Teaching Prize and its Ledlie Research Prize.  His unique fundamental physics studies using tabletop-size experiments were recognized by Italy's Tomassoni and Chisesi Prize, Germany's von Humboldt Research Award, and both the Davisson-Germer Prize and the Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society.  He started low-energy antiproton and antihydrogen physics at CERN, provides some of the most stringent tests of the Standard Model of Particle Physics, and he searches for dark matter.  

The evening will include a presentation followed by mixed-discipline roundtable discussions and a time for questions.

Recent Physics

  1. Measurement of the Electron Magnetic Moment (September 27, 2022)

  2. One-Electron Quantum Cyclotron as a Milli-eV Dark-Photon Detector (August 12, 2022)

Featured at Northwestern

  1. Northwestern Now, Unprecedented look at electron brings us closer to understanding the universe

  2. Northwestern Magazine, Science and Faith in Strange Times

What is the Faculty Roundtable?

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Faculty Roundtables began in 2002 and have since hosted thousands of faculty members at Harvard, MIT, Yale, Brown, and other universities. The Faculty Roundtable at Northwestern launched in July 2020 with presentations given by Dartmouth’s Marcelo Gleiser (Physics & Astronomy) and MIT's Cullen Buie (Mechanical Engineering).

The goal of a Roundtable is to foster cross-disciplinary community and dialogue among faculty that explores the intersection of current scholarship with various ethical, worldview, and religious or non-religious perspectives. The former Dean of Harvard College, Harry Lewis, commented that Roundtables are “the kind of night that should be the norm in academia — serious conversation among smart people about contested issues, with pretty much everyone who spoke and counter-spoke both witty and civil.” Hopefully, these interactions will spark innovative new approaches to a diverse set of academic and personal questions. Ideally, conversations begun at Faculty Roundtable dinners will continue in classrooms, seminars, discussion groups, coffee shops, and in every corner of Evanston and beyond.

Roundtables are typically in-person events at a university faculty club or analogous venue. The event includes dinner, wine, dessert, and discussion after brief remarks from our presenters. At the close of our evening, we include time for questions and comments directed to each other and to our presenters.

Faculty Roundtables are made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, a philanthropic catalyst for discoveries related to the big questions of human purpose and ultimate reality. Additional funding has been provided by generous scholars and donors invested in the intersection of science and faith. 

The Faculty Roundtable at Northwestern is co-chaired by:

If you have ideas or suggestions and would like to help shape the content and speakers of Faculty Roundtables at Northwestern, please let us know as we’re looking for input on how to best utilize The John Templeton Foundation grant for future Roundtables at Northwestern.

Though the event is by invitation only, we are more than glad to work with you to welcome your colleagues to participate. Please contact us for more information or requests.

Reviews from past Roundtables

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“A lovely event - thank you for your energy and effort!”
— Professor of Physics & Astronomy
“There was an interesting discussion on the different types of intellectual humility, and for whom. One was essentially on the importance of fostering new voices, for which it is important that old fogies such as myself practice humility.”
— Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
“Roundtable was very interesting - easy to follow both speakers. Lively faculty discussion afterwards too.”
— Professor of School of Education and Social Policy
“It was excellent.”
— Professor of English
“Thank you very much for it. Northwestern is a place where most faculty are very busy working on their own topic. But it is extremely important that we need to be connected with colleagues and friends in the community. This activity is very helpful to build a collaborative and open-minded teaching and research community​”
— Professor of Asian Languages and Cultures
“Thought provoking and well worth my time.”
— Professor of Mechanical Engineering
“Fascinating to hear them [presenters]. Wanted to hear even more.”
— Professor of Sociology
“I appreciated the serious, complex, nuanced approach to the issues.”
— Professor of Anthropology
“I found the comparative global data quite fascinating as well as the data disaggregated by sub-field and by religion. Those generated useful research and political questions.”
— Professor of History
“I thought the small breakout rooms were very good. Our group had what I thought was a really good and interesting discussion.”
— Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
“I really, really enjoyed the talk and the research. I also enjoyed the post-lecture discussion. It’s a privilege to join the roundtable because this is one of only a handful of venues where non-religious and religious believers can have well-considered and reasoned discussion without getting defensive or offensive. I find these discussions very rewarding.”
— Professor of Law

Reviews from past Roundtables at other Universities

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“The program was provocative; the evening was deeply satisfying. This was sociability at its best.​”
— Professor of Philosophy
“I thought it was great and provided a safe space to have some interesting conversations with other faculty that I certainly would have never had otherwise.”
— Professor of Applied Mathematics
“It was the kind of night that should be the norm in academia — serious conversation among smart people about contested issues, with pretty much everyone who spoke and counter-spoke both witty and civil.”
— Harry Lewis, Former Dean of Harvard College, Professor of Computer Science

The Faculty Roundtable at Northwestern is Coordinated by:

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  • Mickey Sanchez, Campus Staff Minister, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: Graduate & Faculty Ministries

  • Chris Vaaga, Postdoc, Department of Neurobiology

  • Anna Horton, Field Operations Director, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: Graduate & Faculty Ministries