French physicist Albert Fert will deliver, “Spintronics: Recent Developments and Future Directions,” New York University’s 2006 Stanley H. Klosk Lecture, on Thurs., Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m. at NYU’s Meyer Hall, Room 122 (4 Washington Place [at Broadway]). Spintronics, which explores the uses of the spin of electrons to control and manipulate charge currents, plays a significant role in information technology—notably the enhancement of information storage (RAM and hard drives).

The event is free and open to the public, which may contact Lorelei DeMesa at demesa@physics.nyu.edu or 212.998.7711 for more information. Reporters interested in attending the event should contact James Devitt, NYU’s Office of Public Affairs, at 212.998.6808 or james.devitt@nyu.edu.

Fert is scientific director of the Unité Mixte de Physique (UMP), created in 1995 as a joint venture by the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Université Paris-Sud, and the Thales Research and Technology Center. He also is a professor of physics at the Université Paris-Sud. His discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) in 1988 opened the way to the use of the spin of the electron to manipulate electrical currents. The UMP has expanded on his seminal discoveries on the role of the spin of the electron in electrical conduction, leading to the development of spintronics as a field.

  • WHO: Albert Fert, scientific director of the Unité Mixte de Physique
  • WHAT: Lecture—“Spintronics: Recent Developments and Future Directions”
  • WHEN: Thurs., Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m.
  • WHERE: NYU’s Meyer Hall, Room 122 (4 Washington Place [at Broadway]) [Subway Lines: R, W (8th Street); 6 (Astor Place)]

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