Max Goodrich Distinguished Lecture Series
| Year | Speaker | Title of Lecture | Institution | Honors/Achievements |
| 2023 |
Peter Saulson | Taking Stock of Gravitational Wave Astronomy | Research Affiliate at the MIT Kavli Institute and Professor Emeritus of Physics at Syracuse University |
Saulson’s research career has been focused on the search for gravitational waves, in particular on the development of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). One of the early leaders of the field, he served two terms as the elected Spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. On September 14, 2015, the LIGO team’s efforts were rewarded with the first-ever discovery of a gravitational wave signal, coming from two black holes that had collided over 1 billion light years away. For his leadership role, Saulson received (along with Gabriela González and David Reitze) the 2017 National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Discovery. |
| 2016 | Alan Stern | The Exploration of Pluto by NASA’s New Horizons | Southwest Research Institute |
Stern has been involved in 24 suborbital, orbital, and planetary space missions, including eight for which he was the mission principal investigator. Stern has also developed eight scientific instruments for planetary and near-space research missions and has been a guest observer on numerous NASA satellite observatories. |
| 2015 | Peter Zimmerman | "Taking the King's Shilling: From studying nuclear terrorism at LSU to briefing the Queen of England" | Kings College London | Prof. Emeritus of Science & Security & Joseph A. Burton Forum Award Recipient |
| 2007 | Moses Chan | "Einstein's Legacy in Low Temperature Physics: Superfluids and Supersolids" | Pennsylvania State University | Member, National Academy of Sciences & recepient of the Fritz London Prize |
| 2006 | Douglas D. Osheroff |
"How Advances in Science Are Made?" |
Stanford University |
1996 Nobel Laureate in Physics |
| 1998 | John Bahcall | "What Have We Learned About Solar Neutrinos?" | Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton, New Jersey |
Member, National Academy of Sciences |
| 1997 | Edward C. Stone, Jr. | "Mars and the Search for Life Elsewhere" | Director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology |
Member, National Academy of Sciences |
| 1996 | Kip Thorne |
"Space-Time Warps and the Quantum: A Glimpse of the Future" |
Feymann Professor of Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology |
Member, National Academy of Sciences |
| 1996 | Mildred Dresselhaus | "What is so Exciting about Fullerenes and Carbon Nanotubes?" | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 1990 National Metal of Science |
| 1995 | Marlan O. Scully | "The Weird and Wonderful World of the Microcosmos" | Texas A&M University and Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik |
Member, National Academy of Sciences & 1998 Charles H. Townes Award from the Optical Society of America |
| 1994 | Joseph H. Taylor, Jr. | "A Layman's Guide to Binary Pulsars and Relativistic Gravity" | Princeton University | 1993 Nobel Laureate in Physics & Member, National Academy of Sciences |
| 1992 | Philip Anderson | "Is the National Funding System for Science and Technology Rational -- Does it Work?" | Princeton University | 1977 Nobel Laureate in Physics |
| 1992 | R. E. Smalley | "C60 (Buckey Balls) and the Emerging Carbon-Based Nano Technology" | Rice University | Member, National Academy of Sciences |
| 1990 | Arthur L. Schawlow | "Lasers and Their Uses" | Stanford University | 1981 Nobel Laureate in Physics |
| 1989 | Maarten Schmidt | "Quasars as Beacons in the Universe" | California Institute of Technology | Member, National Academy of Sciences |
| 1987 | William A. Fowler | "The Quest for the Origin of the Elements" | California Institute of Technology | 1983 Nobel Laureate in Physics |
| 1986 | Edward M. Purcell | "Life in a Magnetic Field" | Harvard University | 952 Nobel Laureate in Physics |