On April 15, 2024, the University of Maryland’s Department of Physics hosted a screening and panel discussion of the film “The Faraway Nearby: A Journey Into Space, Time and the Mystery of Black Holes.”
In the film, groundbreaking science and art intersect to tell the story of the late UMD Physics Professor Joe Weber—the first scientist to explore the detection of gravitational waves. Derided by the science community, Weber worked nearly alone to answer one of the great questions of science: could we "hear" the universe through gravitational waves, much like we "see" the universe through electromagnetic waves? Could the same passion to explore the unknown become his undoing? This was a quest that consumed him up to his death. The film inspires viewers to see their world differently and feel the thin divide between passion and reason.
Following the screening, Physics Chair and Professor Steve Rolston moderated a panel discussion with:
- Paula Froehle, Director of "The Faraway Nearby"
- John Mather, College Park Professor of Physics, Nobel Laureate in Physics (2006)
- William Phillips, Distinguished University Professor and College Park Professor of Physics, Nobel Laureate in Physics (1997)
- Peter Shawhan, Professor of Physics
Read more about UMD’s contributions to the discovery of gravitational waves
