How has the most celebrated scientific theory of the 20th century held up under the exacting scrutiny of planetary probes, radio telescopes, and atomic clocks? After 100 years, was Einstein right? 

In this lecture, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein's "miracle year" and the World Year of Physics, Clifford Martin Will - the James S. McDonnell Professor of Physics, and member of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis - relates the story of testing relativity, from the 1919 measurements of the bending of light to the 1980s measurements of a decaying double-neutron star system that reveal the action of gravity waves, to a 2004 space experiment to test whether spacetime "does the twist". 

He will show how a revolution in astronomy and technology led to a renaissance of general relativity and how it plays an important role in daily life.

Clifford Martin Will was born in Hamilton, Ont. He obtained his BSc from McMaster University and his PhD in Physics from Caltech. Distinguished positions include: the Enrico Fermi Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago; an assistant professorship of physics at Stanford University; an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellow; and a Mellon Foundation Junior Faculty Fellow while at Stanford. 

He has published more than 160 scientific articles or abstracts and two books, Theory and Experiment in Gravitational Physics and Was Einstein Right?.

The Borealis String Quartet will provide music prior to the lecture. Selections will include "Water to Ice", a specially commissioned musical composition written by Aaron Hryciw, a PhD physics student at the University of Alberta, in recognition of 2005 as the World Year of Physics.

The lecture will take place Tues., Nov. 15, 8 p.m. at the Riddell Centre, on campus. Tickets are required for this event but are free. Please call (306)585-4149 or go to www.phys.uregina.ca to reserve your tickets now.