Experimental physicist Charles Falco to present two lectures next week

"Every once in a while, you meet someone who proves that the worlds of science and art are not intellectual opposites," notes the American Physical Society. "Charles Falco is such a person. Falco has made a career of blending science, art, and his other passion: Motorcycles."

Next week, Falco, professor of optical sciences at the University of Arizona, will visit the DePauw University campus and make two public presentations.

At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, he'll discuss "The Art and Science of the Motorcycle" in a free lecture in the ballroom of the Memorial Student Union Building (corner of Locust and Hanna streets).

On Monday at 4:15 p.m. in the same venue, Prof. Falco will discuss how Old Masters used optical devices in creating their paintings.

Falco will speak as DePauw's Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar, with the support of the National Phi Beta Kappa organization. DePauw hosts Indiana's oldest chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the national scholarly honorary society. The campus and community are invited to both sessions.

The professor was co-curator of the Guggenheim Museum's 1998 exhibition "The Art of the Motorcycle" in New York City, the best-attended show in the museum's history, which also traveled to Las Vegas and to Bilbao, Spain.

In his Monday lecture, Falco will examine how technology, culture and looks have led to machines that can exceed 190 miles per hour straight from the showroom floor.

Falco has published more than 250 scientific manuscripts, co-edited two books, has seven U.S. patents, and has given more than 250 invited talks on his research in 25 countries.