Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman and Comparative Literature Professor and Holocaust expert Geoffrey Hartman will be in residence as the College's Montgomery Fellows during Spring term.
Lederman oversaw construction and operation of the world's most powerful particle accelerator and founded the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, the nation's only three-year public residential high school for exceptional math and science students.
The renowned physicist will visit the College from April 18 to 22. He will give two speeches, dine with graduate physics students and speak to several physics classes ranging from a freshman seminar to an upper-level atomic physics class.
Physics Professor Ralph Lewis, who teaches the freshmen seminar titled "Chaos," said he wanted Lederman to speak in his class "because he has such a deep interest in engaging in discussions with the lay people, the general public. He also has an interest in education."
Lederman will also participate in a physics colloquium titled, "Neutrino Physics: Past, Present and Future." In addition, he will attend University Seminar 6 titled "The Two Cultures: Bridging the Gap," an interdisciplinary discussion designed to narrow the division between the humanities and the sciences.
Lederman shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work with subatomic particles. From 1979 to 1989, he served as director of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy's high energy physics lab.
Hartman, the second Montgomery Fellow, will visit the College from May 2 to 31. Although his schedule has not been finalized, Hartman will give a public address on May 11, titled "Reading the Wound: Testimony, Art, and Trauma."
In addition, he will speak to several classes about the Holocaust, a subject in which he is able to combine his expertise in rhetoric and literary theory with his knowledge of Holocaust history, said Barbara Gerstner, director of the Montgomery Endowment.
"Few people speaking today can communicate the urgency of Holocaust remembrance in as subtle, measured and, yet, passionate and humane way as Hartman," Gerstner said
"During my visit I will be at the disposal of the faculty and students. I look forward to the interaction with the students," said Hartman, a professor at Yale University.
Lawrence Kritzman, the chair of the comparative literature department, said, "I am happy that we will have one of the foremost literary critics at the College. He is such a wonderful pedagogue, he has such a wide range of interests and he is an expert in critical theory."
"The Montgomery Endowment was founded in 1977 in order to enhance the academic realm of the College," Gerstner said. "We try to bring experts and individuals from all areas of study, many times not people whom the College would normally hire as visiting professors."
The Montgomery Fellows interact with students in the classroom and reside in the Montgomery House, located on Rope Ferry Road. Fellows visit the College for periods ranging from three days to three terms, depending on how long the person can stay, the resources of the Endowment and whether they are able to teach courses.
