This award funds the scientific activities at the Aspen Center for Physics (ACP), one of the premier theoretical physics research institutions in the world. The ACP is unique in its combination of programs of high scientific quality coupled with an extraordinarily fertile collaborative research environment. Each year, from mid-May to mid-September, the ACP attracts over 500 of the world's leading physicists to Aspen where, participating in multiple-week workshops, working groups, or individual research projects, they interact, discuss, collaborate, and challenge each other while sharing ideas at the forefront of their disciplines. The ACP also organizes between five and eight one-week Winter Conferences, bringing together as many as 100 researchers each week to respond to rapidly breaking developments in areas of current interest in physics and interdisciplinary research. As a result of this intense activity, each year over 500 journal articles, book chapters and scientific manuscripts explicitly acknowledge the ACP for the birth of new ideas, for the formation and nurturing of collaborations, for the opportunity to concentrate on advancing or completing work, and for essential ingredients contributed by fellow researchers to overcome roadblocks to progress. Thus funding for the ACP advances the national interest by promoting the progress of fundamental science across a variety of subdisciplines of physics.
In both summer and winter, participating physicists also contribute to a rich and visible science outreach program. Each winter conference features a free public lecture with a typical attendance of 200, preceded by a "Physics Café" in which two to three conference participants engage with an audience of 50 to 100. Each summer, ten to twelve free public talks are held on the ACP campus, with typical attendance close to 100. All lectures and talks are recorded, shown on local television, and made available on the ACP web site. Weekly "Physics is for Kids" summer barbeques, co-hosted with the Aspen Science Center, feature hands-on activities and an interactive demonstration/talk by an ACP participant. Also in the summer, 14 top physics students from local high schools work at the ACP for a week each and meet one-on-one with physicists to discuss STEM interests and careers.
