Speaker
Description
For six decades, Jerzy Dudek has made seminal contributions to the study of the rich variety of shapes and symmetries in atomic nuclei at the extremes of angular momentum, excitation energy, deformation, isospin and mass. Throughout this incredibly exciting period, the interplay between experiment and theory has been an exhilarating demonstration of the power of the scientific method, with fascinating, and often unexpected, aspects of atomic nuclei being revealed by increasingly sensitive detector systems, coupled with bold predictions from new highly sophisticated theoretical calculations. Jerzy, and his collaborators, have been deeply involved, and usually at the vanguard, at every twist and turn on this long and winding road. This presentation will reflect on a selection of these topics and his significant contributions, along with a brief glimpse towards some of the extraordinary physics opportunities of the future.