Invitation to the Joint ICTP- SISSA Webinar Colloquium by Prof. Chris Jarzynski on "Scaling Down the Laws of Thermodynamics" on Wednesday 15 July at 16:00 hrs

[ICTP Director]

Dear All,

You are most cordially invited to the Joint ICTP-SISSA Webinar 
Colloquium by Prof. Chris Jarzynski on "Scaling Down the Laws of 
Thermodynamics"on Wednesday 15 July at 16:00 hrs.

Pre-registration is required at the following url: 
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yBQjSF0VQIGYd_pir7Pfuw

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing 
information about joining the webinar.

The talk will be available on livestream via the ICTP website, and also 
on ICTP's YouTube channel.

Live screening in the Budinich Lecture Hall will be set up as well. Due 
to the safety measures that are in place, a maximum of 10 can attend by 
keeping distances and wearing a mask).

*Biosketch: * Christopher Jarzynski received his bachelor’s degree from 
Princeton University (1987) and his PhD from the University of 
California, Berkeley (1994), both in Physics. After a postdoctoral 
fellowship at the Institute for Nuclear Theory in Seattle, he spent ten 
years in the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 
2006 he moved to the University of Maryland, College Park, where he is a 
Distinguished University Professor with appointments in the Department 
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Institute for Physical Science and 
Technology, and the Department of Physics.

Jarzynski’s research interests include theoretical and computational 
work at the interface of physics, chemistry and biology, with a 
particular focus on nonequilibrium phenomena and the application of 
thermodynamic principles to microscopic systems.  In 1996 he derived an 
equality that relates irreversible work to equilibrium free energy 
differences, which has been verified in numerous experiments over the 
past two decades.  His recent research focus includes quantum control 
and thermodynamics, the thermodynamic arrow of time, and the physical 
implications of information processing.  His has received the Sackler 
Prize in the Physical Sciences (2005), the Lars Onsager Prize in 
theoretical statistical physics (2019), and a Guggenheim Fellowship 
(2020), among other awards. He is a Fellow of the American Physical 
Society and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences and the US National Academy of Sciences.

*Abstract: *Thermodynamics provides a robust conceptual framework and 
set of laws that govern the exchange of energy and matter. Although 
these laws were originally articulated for macroscopic objects, 
nanoscale systems also exhibit “thermodynamic¬-like” behavior – for 
instance, biomolecular motors convert chemical fuel into mechanical 
work, and single molecules exhibit hysteresis when manipulated using 
optical tweezers. To what extent can the laws of thermodynamics be 
scaled down to apply to individual microscopic systems, and what new 
features emerge at the nanoscale? I will describe some of the challenges 
and recent progress – both theoretical and experimental – associated 
with addressing these questions. Along the way, my talk will touch on 
non-equilibrium fluctuations, “violations” of the second law, the 
thermodynamic arrow of time, nanoscale feedback control, strong 
system-environment coupling, and quantum thermodynamics.

The talk will be followed by a question/answer session.

For info, please check the following link: http://indico.ictp.it/event/9415/

We look forward to seeing you online!

With best regards,

Office of the Director, ICTP

N.B Due to a technical hitch, the ICTP Colloquium by Prof. Scott 
Aaronson on "Quantum Computational Supremacy and its Applications" has 
been postponed to a new date which will be confirmed shortly.