Physics for the People: MSU professor and AM 1450 KMMS join forces

Thursday Jan. 21st, 2016

Montana radio listeners can now tune in to a weekly, live radio segment about physics, astronomy and the cosmos with Montana State University Assistant Professor Nico Yunes and well-known Bozeman radio personality Chris Griffin of AM 1450 KMMS.

Each Wednesday from 8-8:30 a.m., Griffin and Yunes will discuss everything from theories about black holes and the big bang to the physics behind the Global Positioning Systems that have become ubiquitous in consumer electronics.

“There can be no physics without communication. I love to reach out and share my love for the amazing world of physics,” said Yunes. “Chris has been so gracious to invite me to his show to have an engaging and exciting dialogue about the science that surrounds us everyday without us even noticing it.”

Yunes is an internationally recognized leader both in his area of specialty, Einstein’s theory of general relativity, and in public outreach and education about physics.

Among his many accomplishments, in 2015 Yunes earned the Young Scientist Award in General Relativity and Gravitation from the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation. In 2013, he was awarded a $500,000 National Science Foundation Career Award, and in 2010 he was chosen as one of NASA’s Einstein Fellows.

He is also well known for leading the team that created “Celebrating Einstein,” a science festival that commemorated Einstein’s 100th birthday in 2013 with public presentations, art installations, film and music  performances that blended art and science. The next year, Yunes followed up by organizing and performing at “Rhythms of the Universe,” which combined spoken word poetry and physics.

Yunes is co-director of the MSU eXtreme Gravity Institute as well as MSU’s Gravity Research Group.