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News Release

June 07, 2006

U of G Physicist to Give Herzberg Memorial Lecture

University of Guelph physics professor Ernie McFarland will give the Herzberg Memorial Public Lecture Sunday in conjunction with the 61st annual congress of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) at Brock University.

McFarland’s lecture, “Energy: Where on Earth Are We Going?,” will look at the physics of alternative energy sources. He will discuss the consumption and environmental consequences of fossil fuels, as well as the current and future use of wind, solar and nuclear energy. The lecture begins at 7 p.m.

“I plan to challenge the widely held view that physics is an esoteric science that has little to do with the ‘real world,’” he said, adding that his lecture will be of interest to
physicists and non-physicists alike.

McFarland is the co-author of the book Energy, Physics and the Environment (with retired Guelph professor’s Jim Hunt and Iain Campbell), which provides a foundational quantitative account of energy and related issues. He has also written recent articles about geothermal energy and nuclear energy.

A recipient of the CAP Medal for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, he also holds a 3M Teaching Fellowship, which honours outstanding leadership in teaching, education and academic program development.

The CAP congress, which is expected to attract more than 500 national and international delegates, will include a workshop for high school teachers on solar energy led by Nobel laureate Walter Kohn. It will also feature more than 150 invited talks and some 400 presentations, including a session on “Communicating Effectively With Politicians”with Preston Manning and Peter Adams and an address by Suzanne Fortier, the new president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.