The Aspen Center for Physics gives physicists time and space for deep thinking, free from distractions, rules, and demands, to create the next breakthroughs in science. The Center emphasizes both individual research and the many collaborations that spring up at our blackboards and on our serene grounds.
Our Mission
To pursue the understanding of the physical world and the phenomena it displays from the smallest to the largest scales
Governance
The Aspen Center for Physics is a non-profit Colorado corporation operated for scientists by scientists with a small administrative staff. Officers, trustees, and general members select programs and participants, guide funding, select staff and oversee all aspects of the Center’s activities. The Center is governed by a volunteer board of a maximum of 80 general members and nine trustees who are guided by its by-laws.
History
The Aspen Center for Physics was created in 1961 by George Stranahan of the Carnegie Institute of Technology and Michael Cohen of the University of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the Aspen Institute. The Institute’s director Bob Craig received the idea enthusiastically, and supported by the Institute and eminent physicists, the first building provided offices for 45 physicists by 1962. Soon, the Center gained a worldwide reputation for the pursuit of basic scientific knowledge. In 1968, it became an independent non-profit corporation.
The Center
The Aspen Center for Physics is located on 4.25 acres in the beautiful West End of Aspen, Colorado. It consists of three buildings, including Smart Hall, Stranahan Hall, and Bethe. Flug Forum is located inside the main building, Smart Hall. The Center hosts two-to-four-week workshops in the summer from late May through mid-September and week-long winter conferences select weeks from December – April. Our facilities are available to rent for outside events by select nonprofits during the spring and fall.
“It is hard to pin down all of the factors that make the Center such a special place, but it seems to bring together amazing people, provide comfortable amenities and opportunities for fun recreational activities, and facilitate casual interactions in such a way as to stimulate a creative and productive exchange of ideas that is unlike any workshop, conference, or retreat I have ever attended.”
– Benjamin Larson, University of California San Fransisco
By the Numbers
- 68 participants have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
- 73 countries have been represented
- Over 12,000 physicists have attended a program at the Center since 1962
- In 2012, the Center was designated as an American Physical Society Historical Physics Site
- 50 years of continuous funding by the National Science Foundation
- The Center is governed by 80 members who volunteer thousands of hours each year
- Over 10,000 papers have acknowledged the Center on arXiv.org
Support the Future of Physics
The Aspen Center for Physics is a non-profit Colorado corporation operated for scientists by scientists with a small administrative staff. Officers, trustees, and general members select programs and participants, guide funding, select staff and oversee all aspects of the Center’s activities. To maintain corporate memory, honorary members and trustees continue to advise the board and serve the Center after their elected terms are over. The Center is governed by a volunteer board of a maximum of 80 general members and nine trustees who are guided by its by-laws.