Shahriar Afshar
Encyclopedia
Shahriar S. Afshar (born 1971 ) is an Iranian-American
physicist and a multiple award-winning inventor. He is known for devising and carrying out the Afshar experiment
at Harvard University
in 2004. As of July 2004, Afshar is a Visiting Research Professor
in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rowan University
. His highest academic degree
is B.S.
Afshar's experiment is an optical
experiment
, which is claimed to demonstrate a contradiction of the principle of complementarity in quantum mechanics
. As a result of the controversy surrounding claims made about the experiment, Afshar has been attacked over his religion and ethnicity. These personal attacks drew a rebuke in a New Scientist
editorial
, which called them "extreme", and an "entirely wrong kind of conflict".
More recently Afshar has been concentrating on his commercial interests, as President, CEO & CTO of Immerz Inc, a Cambridge MA startup, in the consumer electronics games field. His award-winning invention KOR-fx is considered to be the next step towards full media immersion and in his interviews with CNN and Bloomberg TV, it has been called "4D technology", as a follow on to the recent success of 3D entertainment, ushered in by James Cameron
's 2009 3D movie Avatar.
On November 18, 2009, on the eve of LHC
's launch, Afshar announced a wager against LHC being able to find the Higgs Boson
in a New Scientist
commentary, and Popular Science
award article offering instead his proposed theory on the origin of inertia delineated in a 1999 paper. As of August 2011, Afshar's prediction on non-existence of Higgs Boson seems to be validated by continued failure of LHC to find the particle, promting other scientists to also suggest that "Higgs boson may be a mirage." http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE77L5L420110822.
Iranian-American
Iranian-Americans are Americans of Iranian ancestry or people possessing Iranian and American dual citizenship.Iranian-Americans are amongst the most highly educated groups in the United States...
physicist and a multiple award-winning inventor. He is known for devising and carrying out the Afshar experiment
Afshar experiment
The Afshar experiment is an optical experiment, devised and carried out by Shahriar Afshar in 2001, which investigates the principle of complementarity in quantum mechanics...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 2004. As of July 2004, Afshar is a Visiting Research Professor
Visiting scholar
In the world of academia, a visiting scholar or visiting academic is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university, where he or she is projected to teach , lecture , or perform research on a topic the visitor is valued for...
in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rowan University
Rowan University
Rowan University is a public university in Glassboro, New Jersey, USA with a satellite campus in Camden, New Jersey. The school was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a twenty-five acre tract of land donated by the town...
. His highest academic degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
is B.S.
Afshar's experiment is an optical
Optics
Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...
experiment
Experiment
An experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
, which is claimed to demonstrate a contradiction of the principle of complementarity in quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
. As a result of the controversy surrounding claims made about the experiment, Afshar has been attacked over his religion and ethnicity. These personal attacks drew a rebuke in a New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
, which called them "extreme", and an "entirely wrong kind of conflict".
More recently Afshar has been concentrating on his commercial interests, as President, CEO & CTO of Immerz Inc, a Cambridge MA startup, in the consumer electronics games field. His award-winning invention KOR-fx is considered to be the next step towards full media immersion and in his interviews with CNN and Bloomberg TV, it has been called "4D technology", as a follow on to the recent success of 3D entertainment, ushered in by James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
's 2009 3D movie Avatar.
On November 18, 2009, on the eve of LHC
LHC
LHC may refer to:* Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator and collider located on the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, SwitzerlandLHC also may refer to:* La hora Chanante, a Spanish comedy television show...
's launch, Afshar announced a wager against LHC being able to find the Higgs Boson
Higgs boson
The Higgs boson is a hypothetical massive elementary particle that is predicted to exist by the Standard Model of particle physics. Its existence is postulated as a means of resolving inconsistencies in the Standard Model...
in a New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
commentary, and Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
award article offering instead his proposed theory on the origin of inertia delineated in a 1999 paper. As of August 2011, Afshar's prediction on non-existence of Higgs Boson seems to be validated by continued failure of LHC to find the particle, promting other scientists to also suggest that "Higgs boson may be a mirage." http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE77L5L420110822.
External links
- Shahriar Afshar's website
- NPR interview NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's Science Friday - American Physical SocietyAmerican Physical SocietyThe American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
News (Profiles in Versatility Interview)