Personal Favorites
Personal Favorites
Favorite author - Miranda Forman
Favorite physics professor and friend Fay Ajzenberg-Selove with President George Bush at the National Medal of Science Awards in 2007
About Fay
Autobiography: A Matter of Choices: Memoirs of a Female Physicist
National Medal of Science - NSF award citation and photo with President George Bush
An Appreciation by Denys Wilkinson of Fay Ajzengerg-Selove's work in Nuclear Physics A Volum 253, i-ii
Family & Friends
Prof. William (Bill) Liller - thesis adviser, lifelong astronomer, master of Adams House (Harvard)
Villaros youtube channel and blog and Instagram
Exposition Imaginaire: La Collection Villaros a la Fondation Vuitton
A marvelous video Les Batisseurs du ciel
Emmanuel Hieaux: Compositeur a Lormes
Music of the Genome - Multiverse Concert Series at the Museum of Science (5 May 2022)
Favorite Moth Story - Family Trees Can be Dangerous by Paul Nurse (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2001; 61st President of the Royal Society; 9th President of Rockefeller University
Favorite Books
Path to Power, Means of Ascent, Master of the Senate, The Passage of Power by Robert Caro
Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
... all human wisdom is summed up in two words: “‘Wait and hope (Fac et spera)!’”
Meetings & Travel
Sexten/Sesto Summer 2022 - Dedication of Center to Riccardo Giacconi
Giacconi: Explorer of the Secrets of the Hoary Deep - 2022 (Forman & Jones)
Forman presentation at dedication - UHURU to Einstein to Chandra
IAU Symposium 359: Galaxy Evolution and Feedback Across Different Environments
IAU Symposium 359: Galaxy Evolution and Feedback Across Different Environments
Proceedings Introduction (eds. Storchi Bergmann, Forman, Overzier, Riffel) see p xvii and dedication to a friend Joao Steiner.
University of Nova Gorica
Visit to Lormes France
Camille Corot's view of Saint-Alban de Lormes (on view at the Metropolitan Museum).
We stayed with friends in the house to the right of (and below) the church, formerly owned by the niece of Camille Corot.
Boston Symphony Orchestra Fall 2023
Joana Mallwitz & Anna Vinnitskaya wowed Symphony Hall with Kodaly, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1 and Schubert's Symphony in C "The Great" - an absolutely fantastic concert from start to finish. Mallwitz was simply "elegance" incarnate and Vinnitskaya was inspiring. Mallwitz did the Schubert with no score but conducted with the elegance of a prima ballerina.
Boston Symphony October 19 Nelsons and Kendall wow with Beethoven Piano Concertos no. 1 and 3. A Beethoven studded program.
Boston Symphony April 21 Maestro Andris Nelsons hits another home run with Anne-Sophie Mutter, Golda Schultz and the BSO. Golda Schultz began the program with Luonnotar (Sibelius), the creation of the world (in Finnish). Mutter was fabulous with Mozart's Violin Concerto # 1, and the Sibelius Symphony #5 was a stunner (just check out the last few minutes for a rousing end of the season).
Boston Symphony Feb 17 Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances was a huge hit with the audience. For the astronomy buffs, it was interesting to read about Saint-Saens wide interests especially his youthful astronomy adventures! After viewing the heavens from telescopes at various Paris locales, Saint-Saens sold six compositions and bought his own 8 cm Secretan.
Boston Symphony Feb 9, 10, 11, 12 Simon, Bloch, and Beethoven - fabulous concert with Andris Nelsons conducting and guest artist - cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Composer Carlos Simon introduced his marvelous world premiere composition Four Black Dances.