Dr. Freeman Dyson, award-winning scientist and professor emeritus of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., will be visiting Iowa State this week for a series of lectures and panel discussions.

As a mathematician and physicist, Dyson has explored the interactions of light and matter, the properties of “many-particle” systems, superconductivity, and nuclear and magnetic systems.

As a scientist, Dyson’s interests range from arms control, the environment and human creativity, to relations between science and the arts, the exploration of space and the understanding of the origins and future evolution of life.

“He really has an extraordinary range of interests, and he’s really an excellent writer,” said Joel Snow, director of the Institute for Physical Research and Technology (IPRT) and the organizer of Dyson’s visit. “He’s very interested in the impacts of science on society, and particularly the unintended consequences of technology.”

Dyson will give a public lecture titled “Tolstoy’s War and Peace as a Guide to Recent History” Tuesday, Oct.1, at 8 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

On Wednesday, Oct. 2 Dyson will lead a panel discussion titled “Weapons and Hope: Continuing to Live with Nuclear Weapons.” This will be held at noon in the Memorial Union Sun Room.

The purpose of the panel discussion is to point out that society still lives with nuclear weapons, although since the end of the cold war people have begun to forget the danger.

“It has become, not a totally forgotten issue, but a somewhat forgotten issue,” Snow said.

Another panel discussion, titled “The End of Science?” will be held Thursday, Oct. 3, at noon in the Memorial Union Gallery.

Dyson will also give two other lectures, publicized separately. At 4:10 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2, Dyson will present “New Directions in Applied Physics,” a colloquium in the department of physics and astronomy, in Room 5 of the Physics building.

“He will talk about some areas of physics that might be interesting to young scientists who are worried about finding jobs in physics,” Snow said.

Another public forum will be held on Thursday, Oct. 3, from 4-6 p.m. in room E164 Lagomarcino. It will be a discussion of science and technology and development in less developed countries and is aimed at people in history, philosophy, creative writing and related areas, Snow said. Amy Bix, professor of history, will moderate.

“He’s an idea guy that brings the tools of mathematics and science to problems of society that affect all of us,” said Doug Finnemore, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Dyson was awarded the U.S. Department of Energy’s Enrico Fermi Award in 1993 for his contributions to theoretical physics and to the public understanding of science. He has been an important popularizer of science, Snow said.

“The way he does this is to talk about things that are important to people that have science in some way embedded in them,” Snow said. “The thing that he is most famous for was for bringing together two very different theories that were developed…about the way that light interacts with electrons.”

Snow said he has been trying to arrange for Dyson’s visit for a long time.

“It started out as an IPRT thing, but many departments have been eager to be a part of this,” he said.

“Almost all of the research we do [at IPRT] is multidisciplinary,” Snow said. “Dyson’s ideas range across all kinds of things and in arranging for his visit a lot of different departments have gotten involved.”