Shanghai, October 24 – David Gross, 2004 Nobel laureate in Physics, delivered the inaugural lecture of T. D. Lee Master Lecture Series titled Fifty Years of Quantum Chromodynamics–The Theory of The Strong Nuclear Force, to an enthusiastic audience of more than 300 students, academics and interested individuals. The lecture, hosted by Academician Jie Zhang, Director of Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, attracted attendees from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ShanghaiTech University, Fudan University, CAS Shanghai Institutes for Advanced Studies, COMAC Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute, Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Zhangjiang Laboratory, School Affiliated to ShanghaiTech University, etc. An additional 4,400 viewers joined the event online.

The strong force, one of the four fundamental forces of nature, is responsible for binding protons and neutrons within an atomic nucleus. At a subatomic level, this force is the result of interactions between quarks and gluons, described by Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), a breakthrough quantum field theory. Pioneering discoveries on the "asymptotically free" nature of QCD earned David Gross, Frank Wilczek (TDLI Founding Director and Chief Scientist), and H. Politzer the 2004 Nobel Prize. Over the past decades, rigorous experimental testing has cemented QCD as foundational to our understanding of atomic structure and nucleon interactions.

In his lecture titled "Fifty Years of Quantum Chromodynamics–The Theory of the Strong Nuclear Force," Gross led the audience through QCD’s evolution, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus to the phenomenon of asymptotic freedom, which established QCD as the theory of strong quark-gluon interactions. Gross then explored QCD’s future, discussing speculative theories that unify the strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces, known as grand unified theories. He explained that superstring theory, which models all particles and forces as vibrating strings, offers a potential bridge to quantum gravity, with open and closed strings representing particles and forces, including gravity via the graviton. Gross also introduced the AdS/CFT correspondence, an idea linking QCD with gravitational theories in higher-dimensional spacetime, allowing cross-analysis between these fields. He concluded that while QCD has unlocked tremendous insights, the exploration of its implications has only just begun.

Throughout the talk, Gross engaged the audience with humor and enthusiasm. The lecture concluded with a lively Q&A session, where participants asked about the unification of fundamental forces, the future of physics, and Gross’s personal journey in science. Gross’s humor and accessibility were met with applause.

To mark the occasion, Director Jie Zhang, representing TDLI, presented Gross with a commemorative certificate, a custom portrait, and TDLI’s “Quest for Infinity” Panorama. Audience members expressed new interest in physics, inspired by the lecture’s accessible and thought-provoking content.

Although the road of scientific exploration is full of challenges, it is this relentless pursuit of the unknown world that lights up the lighthouse of human civilization progress. T. D. Lee Master Lecture Series, a newly launched academic platform at TDLI, aims to engage the public by featuring world-renowned scientists and promoting scientific understanding. Through such initiatives, TDLI hopes to strengthen public access to groundbreaking research and foster a deeper appreciation for science in society.

Live Video: https://www.koushare.com/live/details/38093

Biography

David J. Gross is the Chancellor’s Chair professor of theoretical physics and the former director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He received his Ph.D. in 1966 from the University of California, Berkeley. Before joining the Kavli Institute, he was the Thomas Jones professor of mathematical physics at Princeton University. Gross was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with H. David Politzer and Frank Wilczek, “for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction.” His other awards include the Sakurai Prize, a MacArthur fellowship, the Dirac Medal, the Oskar Klein Medal, the Harvey Prize, the High Energy and Particle Physics Prize of the European Physical Society, and the Grande Médaille d’Or of the French Academy of Sciences. He holds honorary degrees from institutions in the US, Britain, France, Israel, Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, China, the Philippines and Cambodia. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2020, he became Past President of the American Physical Society.