GSIPM

Help us Welcome Middlebury Professor Rich Wolfson to MIIS

Middlebury physics professor Rich Wolfson will visit Middlebury on
November 11 and 12. Please join us on Wednesday November 11, for the
following events:

4:45-5:15 – Book signing (Rich has published several books: Nuclear
Choices: A Citizen’s Guide to Nuclear Technology; Energy, Environment,
and Climate; Simply Einstein: Relativity Demystified). Books will be
available for purchase (cash or check only – no credit cards)

5:15-6:00 – Reception – Faculty, staff and students are cordially
invited to welcome Rich at a community reception in the McGowan Lobby.

6:00 -7:30 pm – Lecture – “Nuclear Power: One Environmentalist’s
Perspective” – McGowan 100

Pro- or anti-nuclear? To this environmentalist, nuclear power is too
complex for a simple “pro” or “anti” stance. On the one hand, nuclear
power is decidedly dangerous, with its deadly radioactive waste,
potential for accidents and terrorist attacks, and its connection to
nuclear weapons. On the other hand, nuclear power provides a
significant fraction of the world’s electricity, and does so with
minimal carbon emissions. The nuclear option is one of only two
long-proven, large-scale alternatives to fossil fuels for electric
power generation. And the very thing that makes nuclear power
dangerous-its high energy density-also means that the nuclear option
uses far fewer resources and generates far less waste than fossil
fuels. So how should an environmentalist view nuclear power? This talk
gives one environmentalist’s nuanced answer.

The lecture is part of the M-squared Lecture Series, Global Vision-
Global Reach, and is co-sponsored by the Middlebury and MIIS M-squared
program committees.