Based at Harvard University, Lisa Randall is a leading theoretical physicist working in particle physics and cosmology. Included in TIME magazine’s 2007 list of “100 most influential people”, Randall is also involved in a variety of art-science collaborations from writing an opera libretto to curating an art exhibit for the Los Angeles Arts Association.
In an exclusive audio interview (below), Michael Banks met up with Randall to talk about the future of particle physics and what the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN may uncover. The 48-year-old has been vocal about the recent decision to close the Tevatron collider at Fermilab later this year. It was proposed that the accelerator would continue for another three years in the search for the Higgs boson but it will now close by October 2011 to make way for experiments in neutrino and muon physics. “I was trying to push them to keep it running,” says Randall. “[Researchers at Fermilab] would have had something significant to say about the search for the Higgs boson.”
However, Randall is looking forward to the wealth of results – and new physics – that the LHC will be delivering now that the experiment is finally getting going and is also putting the finishes touches to her next book – Knocking on Heaven’s Door. The book is expected to be published in the autumn and Randall will no doubt be hoping it is a similar success to her 2005 hit tome Warped Passages.
