Ard Louis is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford where he leads an interdisciplinary research group studying problems on the border between chemistry, physics, and biology.

He was born in the Netherlands, was raised in Gabon, and received his first degree from the University of Utrecht and his PhD in theoretical physics from Cornell University. Prior to teaching at Oxford he taught theoretical chemistry at the University of Cambridge.

In this episode we explore:

1. What drew Ard to study physics
2. Where he encounters beauty in his work
3. What beauty means to scientists in the fields of biology and physics
4. The role of awe and the sublime in science
5. Ard’s recent research of the frequency of symmetry in nature
6. Is there beauty in asymmetry?
7. The significance of beauty in science
8. Can beauty be misleading—a source of bias?
9. How does beauty in science relate to the beauty we encounter in art?
10. Why should the public care about beauty in science?

Visit Dr. Louis’s research group website:
https://www-thphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/people/ArdLouis/

Support us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/BeautyatWorkPodcast

Support the Show.